First Look: 300 Series Land Cruiser by Arctic Trucks
The crack team at Arctic Trucks just got its hands on the Series 300 Land Cruiser, and the result is predictably wicked.
For more than two decades, Arctic Trucks has built some of the most capable off-roaders on the planet. During that time, the mad scientists there have built rigs for a Swedish polar expedition, Norway’s defense forces, and even the lads from Top Gear. Of course, if you’re going to equip trucks to head off into the icy tundra, it helps if you don’t start with junk. So it should come as no surprise that Toyota’s venerable Land Cruiser is one of the outfit’s favorite platforms.
The team just got their hands on the Series 300, and it looks predictably wicked. The stock wheels have been swapped for 17-inch units sporting massive 35-inch tires, and the fenders have been flared to accommodate the truck’s new track, which is a whopping 12.6 inches wider. Along with providing more traction on snowy surfaces, the massive meats also mean ground clearance is up by 1.6 inches, and the approach and departure angles have been upped by five degrees.
Despite those mods, the truck in this teaser video still manages to look almost stock, though the Artic Trucks graphic on the side indicates otherwise. For purposes of comparison, it’d be cool to see one of these bad boys parked next to a stock 300 Series, because the contrast would obviously be pretty striking. At this point, the truck in this teaser video remains stock under the hood, but given some of the extreme builds Artic Trucks has released in the past? I’d bet a weapons-grade version is on the way.
Speaking of weapons-grade versions, the Arctic Trucks website is a little shy on specs. But how awesome are the expedition-ready Tacoma builds? These babies look like nice, normal trucks that’ve been treated to an aggressive course of steroids, and the thought of driving one down the streets of my Seattle neighborhood gives me a chuckle. I’d be lucky to make it out of the gate of my parking lot before I found a needle to narrow for me to thread…
Photos: YouTube