It’s powered by a V8 turbodiesel engine.
Toyota launched the latest Land Cruiser (J300) in 2021 but it’s still making the J70 introduced in 1984. In fact, orders have been halted taken because demand is exceeding supply. Despite its venerable age, the go-anywhere truck isn’t showing signs of slowing down since updates are being made to meet tougher safety regulations. In the meantime, a company specialized in armored vehicles has launched one of the wildest conversions we’ve ever seen.
Unveiled at the Africa Aerospace and Defence Show (AAD2022) in South Africa, SVI Engineering’s MAX 3 Six-Wheeler is based on the J79 chassis. As its name implies, it has a third axle, but also a modified second axle width to align the wheels with the front ones to fix a J79 “anomaly,” according to the armored vehicle expert. In addition, the two rearmost axles benefit from disc brakes for better stopping power to match the vehicle’s increased weight after adding an extra set of wheels.
Looking ready to star in the next Mad Max movie, the sinister off-roader has a fully redesigned body made from armored steel plate that can survive an attack with assault rifles and anti-personnel grenades. As standard, it offers a protection level of EN1063 BR6 but can be optionally upgraded to BR7. SVI Engineering has added a new rear anti-roll bar and made tweaks to the suspension.
Power comes from the indestructible 4.5-liter V8 turbodiesel engine that can support a maximum gross vehicle mass of 5,500 kilograms (12,125 pounds). Some of that weight is attributed to a drone interceptor consisting of a radar that detects the location of a hostile drone and identifies it. After that, the info is sent to the battle management system, which is hooked up to the automated grenade launcher. Once the drone is taken down, it can be retrieved by using an off-road motorcycle mounted on the back of the truck.
While the concept unveiled at the AAD2022 is based on the double cab body style, SVI Engineering says it will also sell the conversion for the single cab and the SUV version known as the Troop Carrier/WorkMate.
