Say a nice friendly hello to one of the hottest cars you’ll see in a magazine. Ever.
To say that we’ve been pursuing the car you see before you for months would be an understatement. Hunting, or even begging, would be much more appropriate descriptions. And from the rumours that we’ve heard, it seems like we weren’t the only magazine hounding its owner, with everyone fighting tooth and nail to get the exclusive. We don’t know what swayed owner Jason Luttrell to opt for ASM, but let’s just say that we are proud to have a feature on what is undoubtedly one of my personal favourite cars that Australia has yet to produce.
Typically this type of fervour is reserved only for that trophy-dominating show car, or a mega-horsepower demo car produced by one of Japan’s select elite. So to have this amount of hype and fuss placed on – of all things – a Landcruiser, might seem a little bit of a waste.
That said, just one look at this thing and the interest its generated is more than justified. It is, with little doubt, one of the most neck-snapping rides you’ll ever see on the street. While most enthusiasts saddle up with a hero car and then embark on modifying one-upmanship to make their ride stand out, Jason went completely against the grain: an unsuspecting platform fitted with totally surprising modifications. And what drove him to do something so unique and distinctive? Destiny really.
Typically this type of fervour is reserved only for that trophy-dominating show car, or a mega-horsepower demo car produced by one of Japan’s select elite. So to have this amount of hype and fuss placed on – of all things – a Landcruiser, might seem a little bit of a waste.
That said, just one look at this thing and the interest its generated is more than justified. It is, with little doubt, one of the most neck-snapping rides you’ll ever see on the street. While most enthusiasts saddle up with a hero car and then embark on modifying one-upmanship to make their ride stand out, Jason went completely against the grain: an unsuspecting platform fitted with totally surprising modifications. And what drove him to do something so unique and distinctive? Destiny really.
Delve into a bit of Jason’s past and you’ll uncover that his four year mission to build what has been affectionately dubbed the ‘Landbruiser’ was always going to be one of his life’s objectives. In terms of his previous rides, first there was the 1987 ‘bagged Hilux. Then a ‘bagged Triton complete with a Commodore V6 conversion. And a ‘bagged Vito van. As well as Toyota Surf which, as you would have guessed by now, was also fitted with air bags. All of them, particularly the latter, would culminate into the Landcruiser project which would end up costing upwards of 75 large. “I wanted to build something bigger and better than anything I’ve ever done before” he said. If you ask us, he’s accomplished just that.
The Landbruiser’s most striking feature is, of course, its ride height. While most might think that Jason has achieved this simply by fitting airbags, they’d be wrong. This particular project has been heaped with tribulations, with Jason having to resort to custom fabrication parts from head to toe. The mere thought of building such a car is enough to make us dizzy, and so to see such a creation in the flesh is more than unbelievable. It’s logic defying.
The ace card up Jason’s sleeve that allowed him to accomplish so many feats is that he’s a rather well-known airbag guru, founding Living Low Customs in Sydney’s West. Although the business started off out of a car port in 2005, it’s since spawned into one of the largest workshops specialising in custom air-bag work, no doubt growing in reputation as their Landcruiser’s notoriety spread across the world.
As Jason’s project was practically a ground-up proposition, there was little need for LLC to find a pristine example. And so when they came across a repairable write-off 100 Series Landcruiser with front-end damage, it was deemed to be the perfect canvas for what they wanted to achieve.
The ace card up Jason’s sleeve that allowed him to accomplish so many feats is that he’s a rather well-known airbag guru, founding Living Low Customs in Sydney’s West. Although the business started off out of a car port in 2005, it’s since spawned into one of the largest workshops specialising in custom air-bag work, no doubt growing in reputation as their Landcruiser’s notoriety spread across the world.
As Jason’s project was practically a ground-up proposition, there was little need for LLC to find a pristine example. And so when they came across a repairable write-off 100 Series Landcruiser with front-end damage, it was deemed to be the perfect canvas for what they wanted to achieve.
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