Toyota Turned Its Two Best SUVs Into Convertibles
In typical Toyota fashion, the brand is going all out for this year’s SEMA show. The company already announced two awesome-looking trucks for Las Vegas—a Land Cruiser convertible and a two-door 4Runner—and we suspect even more are on the way.
Calty Design created the open-air Land Cruiser Rox. The company behind the current Supra and other modern Toyota designs lopped off the Land Cruiser’s C- and D-pillars, and replaced the roof with a reclining soft top. The company also added some extra rigidity to make up for the lack of metal.
Elsewhere, the Land Cruiser has half doors, extended fenders, off-road tires, a light bar, and rugged upgrades like steel bumpers and reinforced skid plates. It even has a functional half-tailgate with a spare tire that swings out for easy access.
As for the 4Runner—Toyota is throwing it back to 1980s SoCal beach culture with the retro TRD Surf concept. The 4Runner-based truck ditches the rear doors and the latter half of its roof in place of an open-air cab with a roll bar and room for surfboards. It has an ocean-colored two-tone paint job with turquoise accents, off-road wheels and tires, and a slightly lifted suspension.
Under the hood, the 4Runner concept uses the stock turbocharged 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine making 278 horsepower and 317 pound-feet of torque, but fitted with a custom exhaust that gives it a deeper sound. It’s all paired to the same eight-speed automatic and full-time four-wheel-drive system.
The Land Cruiser Rox and 4Runner TRD Surf concepts will both be at the Toyota booth when doors open to SEMA next month. SEMA kicks off on November 5 at the Las Vegas Convention Center and runs until November 8.