Is this the Land Cruiser's swansong?

Going fast downhill, the new Land Cruiser 300.

Toyota has finally unveiled the new Land Cruiser 300 to the world in a Middle East-centred online reveal. 

The company said it has sold some 10,4 million Cruisers in 170 countries and regions all over the world since the launch of the first Land Cruiser BJ in August 1951. 

The last real man's Cruiser had hard edges and determination in every line. The new one has comfort.

As above photo shows, the design has changed a lot since the last real man's Cruisers were made in the mid 1980s, but Toyota said reliability, durability, and off-road performance have just been made better.

Well, a little bit, considering the small power increments from the new V6 blocks under the hood which replaces the trusted 4,5 diesel V8.

This may just mean that the new 3,5-liter V6 twin-turbo petrol engine, which makes 305 kW and 650 Nm will start to sell on par with the diesel. For those who don't know, the old V8 diesel outsold the petrol by about 9 to 1. 

The new diesel lost two cylinders to make a, slightly, greener 3,3-liter V6, which makes 227 kW and 700 Nm. Both engines are linked to a 10-speed automatic transmission and on paper, these drivetrains deliver power numbers that are on par with most fossil fuel burners. 

Expect fossil fuel guzzlers to be replaced by something electrifying, like this Rivian.

But if RethinkX got it right, this 300 will be the Cruiser's swansong.

The 'lectrics are coming! 

Apart from already being cheaper to buy and 10 times cheaper to run, and offered with much, much longer warranties, the electrics are also  just sexier.

But for those who still yearn for the days when real men drove Cruisers and everyone had hair driers and filofaxes, let's put the Cruiser's now fast dating numbers in perspective. 

The all-electric RivIan R1S SUV (above) makes 14 000 Nm (yes, fourteen thousand Newtons) and goes from 0-100km in 3 seconds. That's a quite bit more than the Cruiser's 700 Newtons, and not even in Dubai are the bored-with-being-sober youth bored enough to do 0-100 km/h dashes in a Cruiser. For that, one needs a modicum of fast. 

Instead, they ride them on two wheels, like these mad blokes in an FJ Cruiser. For that, one only needs a solid plodder.

Pricewise, Toyota is certainly milking the last drop. The 2021 Rivian R1S Launch Edition sold out at $77 500, each car with a 281 000 km warranty. 

The starting price for the new Land Cruiser currently is at just over $85 000. 

Range wise, the Land Cruiser and the Rivian both do 400-600 km on a tank or charge, depending on the driving style and terrain. 

But, and this is a big but (just like the Cruiser's) -- Toyota is ready to continue selling 300 000 Land Cruisers a year in those 170 markets, while in mid 2021, Rivian was still in the planning stages to deliver 40 000 units a year only to select markets.

So, yeah, it looks like the king is dead. Kind of. Soon. 

But meanwhile: Viva! Viva! the king!