The Toyota Land Cruiser is acclaimed around the world for its ruggedness and bulletproof build quality. They have been around for ages and the new Land Cruiser is about to make an official debut soon. Over the years, we have witnessed many fine examples of modified Land Cruisers but the one which we have today with us pretty special and pretty darn impressive in its own might. SVI Engineering, a South African armoured vehicle specialist has rolled out an armoured version of the Land Cruiser.
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Based on the 70 series Toyota Land Cruiser, the ‘SVI Max 3 Troopy’ is bulletproof and wait for it, mine-proof as well. The perfect vehicle to hoon around town during an apocalypse? Damn straight.
The first thing you might think after getting a good look at it is that it is built for the military but the engineering company has made it evident that there is also a civilian version of the armoured machine without the mounting points for rifles and heavy artillery.
That said, it doesn’t need permits from South Africa’s National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC) and can be used for a number of industries, including but not limited to anti-riot, security, and convoy services. The Max 3 Troopy’s armoured body plates are made of steel and rated to provide EN1063 BR6 minimum protection. This means it can withstand attacks from assault rifles. SVI also offers upgraded protection (up to BR7), which can withstand blasts and personnel mines.
Specs
The SVI MAX 3 Troopy draws power from a 4.5-litre turbo-diesel V8 engine that churns out a maximum power of 202hp and a peak torque of 430Nm. It has a top speed of 140km/h. The vehicle comes with many upgrades, including a set of improved suspensions, and a higher load rating. An anti-roll bar is also added on the rear.
Due to the scenarios in which such a vehicle is likely to be used, SVI recommends a service interval of around 3,000 miles, and because most of the underlying vehicle is from the rugged Land Cruiser, Toyota can carry out such maintenance.
As for cost, it starts at ZAR1.8 million before taxes – roughly $129,000. In Indian money, that is around INR 94 Lakh. Sweet deal we would say.