New Toyota Land Cruiser might be four

We don't hear much from Kurdistan outside of conflicts between the Kurds in the north of Iraq and the Iraqi and Turkish governments. Turns out the region is the home of a relatively lively car blog that knows its way to a scoop. After digging up details of the LC300 Land Cruiser before the new truck's debut, the blog is back, via Australia's Drive, with what's purported to be a leaked screenshot outlining engines for the coming 2024 Land Cruiser. Let's get the info that some might consider bad news out of the way up front: The screenshot shows three engines, all of them bored out with just four cylinders. If this is the way things go down, the Land Cruiser will be without a six-cylinder in the lineup in the U.S. for the first time since the nameplate arrived here.

There's some context to go with this. The Land Cruiser we're getting is what's been known as the Land Cruiser Prado, or just Prado, in many overseas markets, and it will continue to be known as such outside the U.S. As a junior version of the full-size Land Cruiser that's historically been our only fare, the first-gen Prado only got four-cylinder mills. Even when a V6 debuted underhood with the second-gen Prado, the four-cylinder offerings always outnumbered the sixes.

The engines in the screenshot start with the 1GD-FTV, a 2.8-liter turbodiesel that powers the current Toyota Prado SUV, Toyota Hilux pickup, and Toyota Fortuner SUV in Australia. The second engine is the 2TR-FE, anticipated to be a 2.7-liter four-cylinder gas engine allotted to entry-level mill in markets where there will be Prado trim steps. The Land Cruiser's always been sold here with one engine at a time, so if U.S. shoppers get a choice, that would be another departure.

The third engine is figured to be a turbocharged 2.4-liter gas engine, the T24A-FTS four-cylinder we know from the new Tacoma pickup in hybrid form. In the Tacoma, the setup comes in three outputs: 228 horsepower and 243 pound-feet of torque; 270 hp and 310 lb-ft; or 278 hp and 317 lb-ft. When the Land Cruiser retired in the U.S. after the 2021 model year, it drove off with a 5.7-liter V8 making 381 hp and 401 lb⋅ft. The new version will be a comedown in power, but remember, we expect the new model to be substantially lighter than the 5,815-pound 200-Series Land Cruiser.

Rationalizing the engine lineup to four-cylinder-only could make production easier, and in the U.S., it could help keep distance between the Land Cruiser and the 2024 Lexus GX 550h. The Lexus uses a twin-turbo 3.4-liter V6 hybrid making 340 hp and 479 lb-ft. It's also possible a six-cylinder joins the Land Cruiser lineup later.

Drive reports that new Land Cruiser production is expected to commence in November for certain markets like Europe, dealer arrivals starting early next year.

Related video: