FJ Cruiser re-emerges as custom off-road concept vehicle

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The Specialty Equipment Manufacturers (SEMA) show in Las Vegas, going on now,  is a real big-boy (or big-girl) toy fest, with aisle after aisle of new products, customizing equipment and, best of all, lots and lots of cars and trucks — all modified by innovative designers who see their vehicles as the best they can be after shaking down a production model.

Toyota FJ-S Cruiser with Baja Features

This year, as always, Toyota has exhibit vehicles that can do it all.  The Toyota FJ-S Cruiser with a Baja theme is especially interesting.  TRD has had a long relationship with this and other vehicles, and is often identified with Toyota’s trail-ready Tundra and Tacoma.  For SEMA this year TRD upgraded the chassis/body structure and added an underbody “exoskeleton” on the FJ Cruiser to make it stiffer and stronger, and as a more suitable platform for the suspension modifications and wheel/tire upgrades.

The FJ-S’s 4.0-liter V-6 engine features TRD supercharging with a Twin Vortices System (TVS), with 345hp and 340 lb-ft of torque350 (a 30% increase in hp and 25% increase in torque).  A large air-to-water intercooler and four-lobe high efficiency rotor pack also contributed to this result.  A custom cat-back exhaust gives just the right amount of rumble and purr.  The engine is mated to a five-speed electronically controlled automatic transmission.

For the suspension, 60-mm Bilstein race shocks with 1.3″-lift/3/4″ articulation were speced for the front and 50-mm Bilstein race shocks with 0″lift/1” articulation/remote reservoirs on the rear.

On the outside, that exhaust is only one feature.  The Baja-style rig is outfitted with BFGoodrich All-Terrain tires and 17-inch TRD Midnight Black beadlock-style wheels, a front nudge bar and rock rails.

This baby can nudge a whole lot.

Not much modification has occurred on the interior with only custom floor mats and two-tone leather interior with the FJ-S logo on the seatbacks to hint to those in the know what this machine can do.

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