The Cruiser has become a bruiser
STAGE THREE: MOUNTAIN OF THRUST AND TORQUE
Bespoke turbocharger and bulletproof clutch.
V8 engines … everyone loves ‘em. We’re not talking brawny but basic American iron, and the bent eight is no longer the preserve of the American Big Three, which made the configuration a performance synonym when pushrods, carbs and ‘three-on-the-tree’ gearshifts were still the automotive fashion.
Now most everyone has one in their inventory and a V8 is handy for fitment into relatively small spaces and also has inherently good smoothness and balance – especially handy for large-capacity diesels. Which brings us to Toyota’s 79 Land Cruiser bakkie, which is available with a 4.5-litre turbodiesel with eight cylinders.
All-in price on the conversion is R180 700, including a six-month, 20 000km warranty.
And for agricultural executives in a hurry (lambs being born, cows needing milking), RGMotorsport has added a high-performance Stage Three to their existing aftermarket offerings on the big oil burner.
Farmers – or anyone for that matter – will appreciate a 273kW mountain of thrust accompanied by an equally prodigious 913Nm wedge of torque. Moving mountains just got a lot easier. Standard numbers on the 4.5-litre turbodiesel are 151kW and 430Nm and RGMotorsport has taken a holistic approach to adding 80% to the former and 112% to the latter.
The conversion boasts a 76mm Techniflow exhaust system, fatter turbocharger, a substantially enlarged intercooler and an upgraded clutch assembly rated at 1 000Nm – it’ll stand up to serious abuse. Ensuring the pressurised fuel and air mix goes bang at the right time and in the correct proportions is a Unichip Uni-Q, the local engine management system.
Rob Green, founder of RGMotorsport, says: “Our 181kW Stage One and 215kW Stage Two Land Cruiser V8 packages have proved immensely popular ... but the feedback was that they wanted extra grunt. We’ve obliged and the main difference to the S2 is a bespoke turbocharger rather than a hybridised standard one, and the bulletproof clutch.”