Bubble-wrapped Toyota LandCruiser 79 Series for sale with eye-watering price

A brand-new, old-school 2021 Toyota LandCruiser 79 Series 70th Anniversary edition has been listed for sale with an eye-watering asking price.

An online classifieds advertisement lists one immaculate example – stored in an air-tight plastic bubble – for $139,000, almost double the original price of the special-edition LandCruiser, which was listed in 2021 at $82,600 before on-road costs.

The 70th Anniversary Special Edition Double Cab LandCruiser – finished in Sandy Taupe and not fitted with a tray – hasn’t been registered and has been kept in a storage bubble since the owner took delivery in 2021.

The advertisement says the LandCruiser has only 12 kilometres on the odometer, and the storage bubble with come with the vehicle.

The LandCruiser is listed for sale by aftermarket business PVS Automotive, who specialise in LandCruiser 79 Series interior and exterior upgrades and accessories.

This advertisement comes amid wait times of up to two years for Toyota's iconic four-wheel drive, with order books still closed as the Japanese car-maker struggles to keep up with demand.

Despite the long wait times, Toyota has brought updates to the 2023 70 Series LandCruiser range, including a GVM upgrade and adding autonomous emergency braking.

The GVM upgrade was required to re-classify the vehicle as a light truck, effectively side-stepping regulations that would otherwise banned it from sale.

According to recent report, the Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series will also pick up the option of 2.8-litre four-cylinder power in the near future, but the 4.5-litre diesel V8 will remain on sale for the time being.

Built to celebrate the Toyota LandCruiser’s 70th birthday, the Japanese car-maker offered a limited run of 600 special edition 70-Series LandCruisers. This included 320 examples of the 79 Series dual-cab chassis ute, 200 examples of the 79 Series single-cab chassis ute and 80 examples of the 76 Series wagon.

The 70th Anniversary special edition received mostly cosmetic upgrades, including a heritage-style grille, black flares and front bumper, darkened 16-inch alloy wheels and headlight surrounds, and unique badging celebrating the milestone.

On the inside, the 70th anniversary edition LandCruiser got faux-woodgrain dashboard panels and steering wheel trimming, silver air conditioning vents, HiLux-style steering wheel (with blanked-out button functions) and black cloth upholstery.

Practical inclusions inside include two cup holders and twin USB power outlets.

The powertrain – comprising of a 151kW/430Nm 4.5-litre turbo-diesel V8, five-speed manual gearbox, and part-time four-wheel drive system – remains unchanged.

Priced from $82,600 plus on-road costs, the limited-edition LandCruiser 79 Series double-cab represented an increase of $7000 over a standard LandCruiser 79 Series GXL double-cab at the time.