Toyota is cooking up a new luxury SUV that would sit atop the LC300, with international reports suggesting a high-riding version of the brand’s Crown could become Toyota’s most expensive SUV.
According to news site Reuters, the new SUV will be based on a revamped Crown – the brand’s Japan-market sedan, and one of its oldest nameplates – and could be Toyota’s most-expensive SUV offering, sitting above even the Sequoia in the North American market.
It will also be the brand’s biggest and most expensive hybrid model, with reports suggesting a conventional hybrid will be first to launch, followed by a plug-in hybrid variant and a full BEV.
Japanese media suggest the new model will be initially targeting the domestic market, as well as the USA and China, before “evolving” into global models.
Expected to be offered in rear- and all-wheel-drive format, and possibly powered by the petrol V6 i-FORCE MAX hybrid powertrain from the Toyota Tundra, the new model is expected to further shrink the gap between the brand’s mainstream models and its luxury Lexus equivalents.
As to when? That remains something of a mystery, but reports point to a launch in the Japanese summer of 2023, or the third quarter of next year.
Keyword: Toyota's secret SUV! Super-luxury model will be more expensive than the LandCruiser 300 Series - reports