While the revised Toyota Land Cruiser 70 Series range will retain the 4.5-litre V8 for now, the big turbodiesel’s retirement date is on the horizon, according to our sources. Here’s how long it still has…

We’ve already brought you early details of the refreshed Toyota Land Cruiser 70 Series range, which will gain the option of the familiar 2.8 GD-6 motor and the 6-speed automatic transmission. But the imminent arrival of 4-cylinder power in the evergreen J70-generation line-up has again sparked questions about the long-term future of the venerable 4.5 D-4D V8 turbodiesel engine.

So, just how much longer does the 1VD-FTV powerplant have? Well, while the 4.5-litre V8 turbodiesel mill – which is a 32-valve DOHC engine generating peak outputs of 151 kW and 430 Nm – is set to soldier on alongside the 4.0-litre V6 petrol unit (170 kW/360 Nm) and the 4.2-litre straight-6 diesel motor (96 kW/285 Nm) in the revised 70 Series portfolio for now, our information suggests a date for the 8-cylinder unit’s discontinuation has indeed been set.

The V8 will carry over to the revised range, though won’t be around indefinitely.

Our understanding is that Toyota plans to put the V8-powered version of the Land Cruiser 76 station wagon out to pasture around August 2024, before pulling the plug on the Land Cruiser 79 single- and double-cab derivatives powered by this engine a year later (in August 2025). Though there may well end up being some minor leeway in these dates, we’d speculate this is a global production decision rather than one limited to the South African market.

Interestingly, no discontinuation date has seemingly been set for the 4.0-litre V6 petrol unit nor the 4.2-litre straight-6 diesel motor, despite the fact that the latter 1HZ engine traces its roots all the way back to 1990 (while the V6 went into production in 2002 and the 8-cylinder unit in 2007).

The outgoing version of the Land Cruiser 79 double cab, powered by the V8.

As a reminder, the 4.5 D-4D is the Japanese firm’s lone surviving V8 engine, with production of all other Toyota-branded 8-cylinder motors (including the 5.7-litre petrol unit known as the 1UR-FSE) having already ceased. While the 1VD-FTV also did duty in the long-running J200-generation SUV, the Land Cruiser 300 that replaced it switched to a twin-turbo 3.3-litre V6 (F33A-FTV) turbodiesel heart.

The 8-cylinder motor is currently employed by the Land Cruiser 76 4.5 D-4D LX V8 (priced from R1 022 100), the Land Cruiser 79 4.5 D-4D LX V8 single cab (R910 800) and the Land Cruiser 79 4.5 D-4D LX V8 double cab (R998 500). Though, as we have pointed out above, it will carry over to the renewed range for a period, before eventually reaching the end of the road…

Related content

Toyota Hilux Hybrid 48V: power & torque figures released

10 best-selling bakkies in South Africa: November 2023

New Toyota Hilux Champ: engine details drop