Tim Esterdahl | Nov 05, 2013 | Comments 12

0 Flares 0 Flares ×

Toyota announced today at the SEMA show that the FJ Cruiser’s time has come. In a grandiose gesture, they presented a special 2014 FJ Cruiser Trail Teams Ultimate Edition. Will you miss it?

The writing has been on the wall for quite a while that the FJ Cruiser’s time was limited. Ultimately, the biggest reason for its demise is the upcoming 2016 CAFE requirements. Seeing how the requirements are based on the footprint of the vehicle and the really poor fuel economy of the FJ, Toyota would have had to significantly change the vehicle to meet CAFE. This just wasn’t going to happen.

The Trail Teams Ultimate Edition model is really quite a send off. It includes:

A race-inspired Toyota Racing Development (TRD) off-road suspension was developed and meticulously tuned for the Ultimate Edition. The new suspension includes TRD Bilstein race shocks with increased damping, articulation and high speed stability. The front shock assemblies are 66mm with new TRD race coil springs, which raise the front of the FJ just enough to level out the stance and improve the approach angle. The rear shocks are 50mm and are equipped with remote reservoirs to decrease damping fade. The list of new TRD goodies doesn’t stop there. A newly developed TRD front skid plate, made from one-quarter-inch thick aluminum plate comes standard on the Ultimate Edition. The TRD stamped front skid plate not only looks great, but improves approach angle and provides an increased level of underbody protection. TRD 16-inch bead lock wheels with BF Goodrich A/T KO tires, rock rails and roof rack complete the exterior. The Ultimate Edition FJ Cruiser is only available in 4×4 and comes standard with Active Traction Control (A-TRAC), Crawl Control (CRAWL available with automatic transmission only), Vehicle Skid Control (VSC) with off switch and electronically controlled locking rear differential. In addition, the Toyota Star Safety System is standard.

Toyota says that they will only build 2,500 FJ Cruiser’s next year and the new 2014 models will be in dealerships in February 2014. The FJ has sold more than 200,000 units since 2006 and will be one of the most iconic vehicles in Toyota’s history.

What do you think? Was it time?

Related Posts:

Search terms people used to find this page: