When Toyota pulled the 200-series Land Cruiser out of the U.S. market in 2021, we knew it wouldn't be gone for long. And it turns out we were right, as Toyota has now confirmed its return with a short video on its U.S. social media accounts displaying old Land Cruiser badges with a tagline that reads, "The legend returns."

But there's a catch. While Toyota hasn't revealed anything else beyond the cryptic teaser, we know the Land Cruiser that's coming stateside won't be the new 300-series, which made its debut for other markets after our 200-series bowed out. In fact, we already have the latest Land Cruiser over here in the form of the mechanically-related Lexus LX. Instead, it's likely that we'll be getting a smaller version based on the body-on-frame platform that underpins the latest Lexus GX.

The newly redesigned Lexus GX. Image Credit: Lexus

While the 2024 GX was developed as a Lexus first, other markets overseas have been offering a Toyota version of the outgoing GX under the Land Cruiser Prado name. It's highly likely that the next-generation Prado, which will continue to be based on the latest GX, will also serve as an American Land Cruiser, and sources familiar with Toyota's plans even suggest that the newer model will drop the Prado part of its name for the U.S. market. Since the current Prado sold in other markets shares many components with the GX, expect the powertrains found on the newer 2024 GX to carry over into the latest Toyota version.

Expect the new Land Cruiser to begin slowly revealing itself within the upcoming months, with a full release likely in 2024.