Arctic Trucks Has Made The Toyota Land Cruiser Even Beefier

The retrotastic new J250 Toyota Land Cruiser is undoubtedly a tough old cookie of a car, as befits its famous name. But what if you want it even tougher? Like, drive all the way to the North Pole and back tough?

Enter Arctic Trucks, the outfit that kitted out the Toyota Hiluxes that took Top Gear to the top of the world all those years ago. The Icelandic embiggener of 4x4s and pickups has gotten its hands on the J250, although it’s been developed in part by AT’s UK division, meaning it’s been honed in the infamously brutal, hostile landscapes of, erm, Oxfordshire.

Still, we’re sure it’s going to be capable of tackling a bit more than the gravel car park at Daylesford Organic. It’s been given the designation AT37, which refers to the size, in inches, of its gigantic off-road tyres – either all-terrain rubber or a more specialised mud compound, both from BF Goodrich.

That rubber encircles a set of retro-inspired forged wheels, in keeping with the J250’s design, each featuring two valves for better monitoring and adjustment of tyre pressure. Naturally, there are enlarged and hugely flared wheel arches to accommodate the tyres’ size and girth, but the changes are more than skin deep: the LC’s whole rear axle has been moved further back to aid ground clearance and stability.

What deeply complicated suspension system connects all this to the chassis? Well, since you asked, it comes from off-road specialist R53, whose systems have appeared on Dakar-winning cars.

There is much engineering to dig into here: two-way adjustable monotube dampers with high-tensile chrome steel shafts, hydraulic bump stops, and something called OptiFlow, which maintains low-friction oil flow throughout the system. All in, the setup lifts the car by 40mm.

While pricing’s yet to be confirmed, in some regions you’ll be able to pop into a Toyota dealership, but alternatively, you can send your Land Cruiser off to Arctic Trucks to have it converted. Given its charming retro style and the massive appetite for capable off-road rigs like this, we can see the AT37 being very popular indeed in some of the most inhospitable places on earth. And the Cotswolds.