The acronym 'SUV' is synonymous with big, robust vehicles which have the capability to tackle any and every kind of terrain. The Toyota Land Cruiser in particular, has been a world-favourite SUV ever since it went into production more than 60 years ago. But this time around, a Toyota Land Cruiser has created a rather unique world record of being the 'Fastest SUV in the world'. Yes, you read that the right. Toyota's Motorsport Technical Centre went ahead and made a special Land 'Speed' Cruiser for the record run held at the Mojave Air and Space Port, California.
(Former NASCAR driver Carl Edwards drove the SUV on its record run)The engineers took the stock 5.7-litre V8 engine and added a pair of Garrett turbochargers, swapped the stock internals such as the pistons and con-rods with more durable ones, fitted a custom intake manifold and then made some more changes in order to make the engine produce a massive 2,000 bhp.
(The engine and the turbochargers on the Toyota Land Speed Cruiser)Driving the Toyota Land Speed Cruiser was former NASCAR driver Carl Edwards, who managed to reach a maximum speed of 370 kmph before running out of 'usable pavement'. The speed record was verified by a GPS system and video documented as well. Toyota believes that the Land Speed Cruiser could have gone even faster if the SUV had a longer track. In order for the SUV to be stable at those speeds, it was lowered and the width of the SUV was narrowed by 3 inches so as to accommodate the Michelin Pilot Super Sport Tyres.
The previous SUV land speed record was 340 kmph, which the Toyota Land Speed Cruiser beat by almost 30 kmph.
