If the Toyota Land Cruiser from the 90s is not nostalgic enough, Japanese company Flex will bring it back to the 80s (15 photos + 1 video)

Remember stuff about the Japanese brand Mitsuoka for a while back? Today we will talk about another company from the Land of Rising sun, engaged in the manufacture of retro cars based on more than practical modern models.





I am translating for you the latest material from Car & Driver and I propose to discuss this news.

Briefly for those too lazy to read:

→ Founded in 1967, Flex Automotive owns a network of 50 dealerships throughout Japan and makes modern Toyota vehicles similar to retro cars. The company is now entering the United States market States.

→ A representative office opens in San Diego and is going to sell 1990-2000s Toyota Land Cruiser SUVs that will look like the FJ60 from the "eighties". Specialists will also prepare for clients from America a special model built on the basis of a Tacoma pickup truck.

→ Creations called Renoca (a fancy name derived from English words renovation and car - "renovation" and "car"), are a mix of past and present.



No one knows how to be nostalgic the way the Japanese do. First was Nissan with their fancy Pike Factory cars. Then Japanese dealers sold the original Rover Mini until 2000. Quirky Mitsuoka body shop today filled out the waiting list for Buddy — Toyota RAV4 crossover in a suit SUV K5 Blazer from the 1980s. From now on, a piece of this nostalgic cocktail will be available this side of the Pacific (sorry not us in Russia).







Today, Flex Automotive, founded in the late 1960s, operates a large network of dealerships in Japan, each of which specializes in either Toyota Land Cruiser or Toyota Hiace (minivan, which is not sold in America). These are kind of boutiques. where customers come and carefully choose a Toyota that looks old but runs like new.









If you wish, you can sacrifice productivity, go to their website and kill half a day digging into the online configurator.

It's a lot of fun, however, in the USA there are no such nice models as the Euro Box ... But there is a Land Cruiser!





This coming winter, Flex plans to open its first dealership in American San Diego - the perfect place to separate technical workers (programmers, testers, creators computer hardware, network administrators, and so on) with their money. What could be better for an adventurous 20 year old? with a six figure paycheck than a weekend car that looks like a Land Cruiser from the "eighties", but in reality it is brand new inside?





Alterations, called Renoca (from the English words Renovation and Car - "Renovation" and "Car"), are high-quality products that are made using steel rather than fiberglass. Crossover Wonder (eng. "Miracle") resembles the Land Cruiser from "eighties", but built on a platform from the "nineties", and the Flex model 106 embodies the same idea, but already based on the units of 1999-2007. The central element of both is the front panel with a concise grille and round headlights.



The company also announced an upcoming Tacoma-based model that will be their first car dedicated exclusively to the market USA. No details have been released yet, but based on the concept Flex, we should expect Marty McFly's black pickup on the platform some modern truck (we are talking about a car that liked the protagonist of the sci-fi trilogy "Back to future" - a 1985 Toyota Truck 4x4 pickup in a rare SR-5 modifications).



Toyota stoppedsell Land Cruiser in the United States market, with the latest being a 2021 model year car. Prices pre-owned pieces are already off the charts, making the boutique offer Flex is very timely. The cost of the conversion has not yet been announced, but it must be within $20,000 plus the value of the donor vehicle. It's not exactly a Singer (a company known for its restomods based on the Porsche 911 generation 964) from the world of Land Cruisers, but also a very cool way to get a brand new truck of your dreams from the golden era of Toyota.



What do you say, friends? I think this is a really cool idea! I would with gladly bought some Moskvich-412, if it were assembled for me manually on the basis of a modern and safe car. And you?