Lexus J201 Concept | Overlanding into uncharted brand terrain

Using a left turn off of I-ten outside the house of Palm Springs, California, we drove down a rutted, sand-blown observe for a pair miles right before ending up at a tall, rocky pile, an outcrop scaled somewhere amongst a hillock and a massif. Soon after shifting the transmission into neutral, partaking the 4-wheel-travel very low array, and closing the ARB Air Locking differentials, we acquired even and constant on the throttle and pointed our truck—a seven-determine, 1-off, overlanding idea regarded as the Lexus J201—up the steep, rocky deal with right until all that confirmed by way of the windshield was dust and searing sky.

The truck managed the problem with marked aplomb, cresting the ridge without the need of a huff, and sooner or later leveling off and exhibiting the glories of what was on the other facet: a meth lab. So able was this motor vehicle that it was straightforward to overlook that the system that underpinned all of this ruggedness was Lexus’ posh, flagship SUV, the $88,000 LX 570. This jacked and tracked truck begs the issue: Has Lexus long gone rogue?

“Going rogue is essentially part of who we are,” says Vinay Shahani, the brand’s vice president of internet marketing for The usa. “And we really like to experiment. J201 is a rolling case in point of our belief in Generally On, the concept of continual advancement no make a difference the time in a vehicle’s lifecycle.”

The reference to time-in-lifecycle is sort of an understatement for a motor vehicle that has existed in its present kind, with only minor beauty updates, since 2008 — two lifetimes in the product span of most automobiles. But the J201 Concept does incorporate sizeable updates to the creation motor vehicle, which, dependent as it is on the venerable and caprine Toyota Land Cruiser, is barely a slouch in the off-highway-capacity section.

In addition to the efficiency differentials described higher than, the J201 benefits from a myriad of extra incorporate-ons. These include things like rugged add-ons this sort of as an Icon Motor vehicle Dynamics suspension excellent for a several extra inches of experience peak, and even far more when the suspension is put in extreme higher mode smaller sized seventeen-inch Evo Corse Dakar Zero wheels mounted with 33-inch General Grabber X3 tires a TJM Airtec snorkel for breathing underwater (one thing we did not get to experience in the parched Coachella Valley) and StopTech drilled brake rotors. It also incorporates bolt-ons this sort of as CBI skid plates, rock sliders, and front and rear bumpers a Warn winch a Prinsu Design roof rack method an onboard ARB twin compressor and luminescence of Rigid Industries mild bars.

Potentially most importantly, it incorporates a Magnuson supercharger bolted to the conventional 5.seven-liter Toyota V8 — the exact unit that was offered from Toyota Racing Enhancement (TRD) in the Tundra some a long time again. This strapped-on blower updates the conventional 383 horsepower and 403 pound-toes to a ripping 550 hp and 550 lb-ft. Nevertheless, immediately after tasting the whine, we can say that the addition of 167 horses doesn’t accurately change the habits of the J201, in part since all the rugged incorporate-ons bolted to its front, rear, rockers, and roof are seemingly built of solid iron and incorporate around an extra 1,000 lbs ., give or consider, to the base three-ton fat.

Nevertheless, the extra ponies do present far more than enough press for the truck to get out of its personal way, so lengthy as you’re not demure with the gas pedal. That’s in part since this truck retains the LX’s tranquilizing 8-velocity automated, which is programmed for leisure and fuel economy. (“Economy” of program is relative, as the EPA costs the inventory LX at 12 mpg city, 16 mpg highway, and 14 mpg mixed. We’re absolutely did not crest the double-digit threshold.)

Capable as they might be traversing the desert sand pack, the J201’s monster tires don’t incorporate substantially to on-highway refinement or quietude, lengthy a Lexus hallmark. They also are likely to abide by even unseen roadway imperfections, like a polar bear monitoring the miles-away scent of an icebound seal. It possibly did not assistance that we were being in the notoriously windswept Sonoran desert piloting one thing with the drag coefficient of an upright Steinway.

But this J201 does look pretty radical. For the duration of a daylong travel by way of Joshua Tree Countrywide Park, we noticed at least a hundred rigs outfitted for overlanding, and though very several of them appeared to essentially be heading additional off-highway than an Instagram-ready gravel pull-off, there was not a solitary other modified, late-model LX570. And there absolutely was not a different 1 that had been massaged by the manufacturing unit, applying pieces that wouldn’t void the guarantee. The elimination of the reduced 50 percent of the ghastly Lexus “spindle grille” absolutely helped in the appearance section, nevertheless the SUV’s inflated scale, narrowed eyes, sea blue vinyl wrap, and baleen higher air ingestion did give the J201 a slightly porcine/cetaceous presence. No question the Lexus people had nicknamed this create Buta Kujira, which interprets around to Whale Pig.

The serious issue about this create is what Lexus implies to enunciate by building a motor vehicle like this, apart from inciting a 404: Webpage Not Identified mistake for just about each individual probable or existing client. Mercedes-Benz and Land Rover have credible reputations for making intensely off-highway-able luxurious vehicles. And Lexus’ guardian company, Toyota, has garnered similar position in making Hi-Luxes, Tacomas, and Land Cruisers (the motor vehicle on which the LX 570, and J201, is dependent) that are rugged enough for both the United Nations and the radical insurgent armies the UN is generally brought in to corral. But Lexus appears to jibe with the overlanding subculture about as well as break up-pea-with-ham soup flavoring does with espresso creamer.

Surprisingly enough, the model appears pretty severe about developing some variation of a motor vehicle like this in the long term. “I’m always a lover of crafting luxurious vehicles that excite and that join to a passionate viewers,” says Shahani. “With J201, we’re emphasizing this SUV’s foundational id. J201 with any luck , will get the interest of people who did not comprehend the LX has always been a terrific implies of magnificent adventure, or how it can be built that substantially far more able with a several conscious enhancements. J201 was developed to investigate methods to fulfill the demands of our most adventurous visitors. All I can say is, buckle up. The long term is vivid for Lexus.”