Forget the Toyota LandCruiser going electric in the future, soon you'll be able to get an electric 40 Series, 60 Series and 80 Series

While Toyota teases electric LandCruiser concepts, one Australian company is getting down to business planning electric conversions of some of the most iconic models.

Jaunt Motors, an electric conversion business based in Melbourne, has been operating for five years and has, until now, focused on reviving and modernising Land Rover and classic Minis, but the Toyota LandCruiser is next on its ‘to do’ list.

Jaunt began in 2018 as a project from former advertising executives, Marteen Burger and David Budge. Its initial Land Rover and Mini products have been so successful it already has a two-year waiting list for customers.

But that hasn’t stopped plans for expansion, and having successfully converted the older Land Rover Series 1 and Series 2 models, Burger told CarsGuide that she sees the booming LandCruiser market as an obvious next step.

“We’re expanding beyond the Land Rover platform now,” Burger said. “We’ve got three [Volkswagen] Kombi customers. We’ve got Range Rover customers. The next cab off the rank, as far as vehicle conversion is concerned, is LandCruiser. We’ll start with the older LandCruisers - 40s, 60s and 80s.”

The LandCruiser 40 Series is the original 1960s model and has become a much sought-after car for collectors. The 60 Series arrived in the 1980s while the 80 Series was part of the line-up in the 1990s. These three models will be Jaunt’s initial focus but Burger didn’t rule out other LandCruiser variants as these larger off-roaders are well-suited to the specific Felten-brand battery systems Jaunt installs.

“We’d like to dabble in those,” she said. “Some of the major components we use, our systems are powered by the Felten battery box and most vehicles with a large engine bay, like the LandCruiser and the Land Rover are on our hit list to be converted. So as long as they’re popular and there are customers who want them, we want to be converting them.” 

It’s too early for any detailed pricing but as an indicator, Jaunt’s Land Rover conversions start at $160,000 and that doesn’t include the donor vehicle. This cost doesn’t just include the powertrain change though, with Jaunt also making a raft of safety upgrades including adding disc brakes, power steering and enhanced occupant protection.

The current Land Rover conversions use a 55kWh battery that provides around 250km of range, but there are plans in place to introduce a larger 110kWh battery option, with a longer range, for future models - which will likely include any LandCruisers.

Importantly, Burger said the company ensures that these converted cars maintain their capability.

“All of our cars have gone off-road so far, which is great,” she said. “They have to, if you’re talking about a car that is going to be at the numbers I’m quoting, we have to deliver a car that is better than the original. So it can still do everything the original car does but it will have more power, be safer and better to drive.”