Land Cruiser's secret

The outback vehicle will be renewed this year and will pick up a package of wheel-control systems developed by Kinetic Suspension in Western Australia.

Kinetic has developed a range of patented suspension systems including a fully hydraulic set-up that uses computer-controlled rams in place of conventional springs and dampers.

Toyota has taken a lower-tech approach to the new LandCruiser, the 200 Series, but will still use Kinetic anti-roll bars to give the best possible combination of off-road grip and on-road comfort.

The locally designed and developed system allows huge wheel articulation in the bush without sloppy cornering or excess body movement on bitumen roads.

Full details of the Kinetic involvement in the new LandCruiser are secret, together with the rest of the car's mechanical package.

But it is known to have an all-new V8 turbodiesel engine that will produce 650Nm.

The petrol engines will be carried over from the existing 100-Series, but the new turbodiesel is expected to be the most popular choice.

“We cannot confirm anything about the new LandCruiser ahead of its launch,” Toyota Australia spokesman Mike Breen says.

But the Australian involvement in the 200-Series project is extensive.

Apart from the Kinetic connection, test vehicles have been in Australia for more than two years as part of the LandCruiser's development process.

They have been logging hundreds of thousands of kilometres in Western Australia and the Northern Territory. But those were early prototypes and fully disguised test vehicles, unlike the latest LandCruiser visitors.

A crew of left-hand drive Cruisers were shipped to the red centre to star in the television commercial and brochure pictures that will be used to sell the 200 Series in the US.

The new LandCruiser is the first total change for the vehicle since 1997 and is expected in Australian showrooms in November.

It will spark a range of other updates, including a new Lexus LX570 about March.