Toyota Land Cruiser has become a bruiser

V8 engines … everyone loves ‘em.

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We’re not talking brawny but basic American iron, and the bent eight is no longer the preserve of the American Big Three, which made the configuration a performance synonym when pushrods, carbs and ‘three-on-the-tree’ gearshifts were still the automotive fashion.

Now most everyone has one in their inventory and a V8 is handy for fitment into relatively small spaces and also has inherently good smoothness and balance – especially handy for large-capacity diesels. Which brings us to Toyota’s 79 Land Cruiser bakkie, which is available with a 4.5-litre turbodiesel with eight cylinders.

And for agricultural executives in a hurry (lambs being born, cows needing milking), RGMotorsport has added a high-performance Stage Three to their existing aftermarket offerings on the big oil burner. Farmers – or anyone for that matter – will appreciate a 273kW mountain of thrust accompanied by an equally prodigious 913Nm wedge of torque.

Moving mountains just got a lot easier. Standard numbers on the 4.5-litre turbodiesel are 151kW and 430Nm and RGMotorsport has taken a holistic approach to adding 80% to the former and 112% to the latter.

The conversion boasts a 76mm Techniflow exhaust system, fatter turbocharger, a substantially enlarged intercooler and an upgraded clutch assembly rated at 1 000Nm – it’ll stand up to serious abuse.

Ensuring the pressurised fuel and air mix goes bang at the right time and in the correct proportions is a Unichip Uni-Q, the local engine management system.

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Rob Green, founder of RGMotorsport, says: “Our 181kW Stage One and 215kW Stage Two Land Cruiser V8 packages have proved immensely popular … but the feedback was that they wanted extra grunt. We’ve obliged and the main difference to the S2 is a bespoke turbocharger rather than a hybridised standard one, and the bulletproof clutch.”

Info

• All-in price on the conversion is R180 700, including a six-month, 20 000km warranty.

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