Flex Remakes Toyota Land Cruisers of the ’90s in ’80s Style

• Established in 1967, Flex Automotive has a chain of 50 dealerships across Japan, taking modern Toyotas and giving them retro looks. Now the company is coming stateside.
  
• Launching in San Diego, Flex will offer 1990s and 2000s Toyota Land Cruisers backdated to look like the FJ60 of the 1980s. There will also be a new U.S.-only offering based on the Tacoma pickup.
• The creations are called “Renocas,” an appealing blend of up-to-date underpinnings and nostalgia.

Nobody does nostalgia quite like the Japanese. At first, it was Nissan with its quirky little Pike Factory cars. Then it was Japanese dealerships keeping the original Rover Mini on sale until 2000. Oddball coachbuilder Mitsuoka currently has a full order list for its Buddy, a Toyota RAV4 gussied up like a 1980s K5 Blazer. Now, a bit of that blend of old and new is headed to this side of the Pacific.

Founded in the late 1960s, Flex Automotive now runs a large chain of dealerships in Japan, each one specializing in either the Toyota Land Cruiser or the Toyota Hiace (a minivan not sold here). These are boutique shops, where customers come in and spec their Toyota carefully, creating something that looks old but drives new.

You can obliterate the day’s productivity with the company’s online car configurator. It’s endless fun, although, sadly, the likes of the friendly-looking Euro Box are not available in the U.S. But the Land Cruiser options will be.

Flex is opening up its first U.S. dealership in San Diego this winter, where it will be perfectly situated to part tech workers from their cash. What could better suit a 20-year-old with a six-figure salary than a weekend adventure machine that looks like a 1980s Land Cruiser, but is essentially brand-new underneath?

The conversions—called Renoca for “car renovation”—are high-quality affairs, using steel rather than fiberglass. Flex’s Wonder evokes the details of the 1980s Land Cruiser models based on a 1990s platform, while its 106 applies that same ethos to a 1999 to 2007 Land Cruiser. The centerpiece for both is the front fascia, with its simple grille and round headlights.

The company has also announced an upcoming Tacoma-based offering, which will be its first U.S.-only vehicle. No details yet, but based on Flex’s established recipe, expect the elements of Marty McFly’s black Toyota pickup applied to a more modern truck.

Toyota pulled the Land Cruiser from the U.S. market, with the last run being the 2021 model year. Prices for used ones are through the roof already, which makes Flex’s boutique offering well timed. Pricing has yet to be confirmed, but it should be in the range of $20,000 plus the cost of a donor car. It’s not quite the Singer of Land Cruisers, but it is a really cool way to get the brand-new golden-era Toyota truck of your dreams.

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