Retro Land Cruiser builder Flex Auto to open first US dealership

If you love Toyota Land Cruisers, you’ve probably come across the Japanese firm Flex Auto’s restomods before. The shop specializes in transforming modern vehicles into their older counterparts. Their most popular offerings include J80 or J100 Land Cruisers with J60 noses convincingly grafted onto on them. After operating in Japan for decades, Flex Auto has announced that they will be opening their first US shop later this year.

Flex Auto’s first US branch will be located in San Diego. It will offer two of their models: the Wonder, an 80-series with the FJ60 nose; and the Land Cruiser 106, a 100-series with an FJ60 nose. Additionally, the San Diego shop will offer a new product based on the Tacoma, which isn’t sold in Japan. We don’t know exactly what that will look like yet, but we expect a callback to older Toyota trucks.

Flex Auto started as dealership in 1967 and now operates over 50 showrooms across Japan. Their retro conversion business began with the Wonder, and has since expanded into several other models. This includes H200 Toyota HiAce vans with the double-stacked headlight design of 1980s HiAces, and modern Land Cruiser Prados with J70 noses.

Flex Auto calls these “Renoca”, or “renovation car”. In addition to the noses, the interiors are brought back to life in brand new condition. You can also select from a variety of fabrics and colors that Flex Auto offers for an upholstery upgrade if you choose. Flex Auto also points out that the reshaped hood of the 106 is, amazingly, steel and not fiberglass.

“Based on demand, now was the right time to make this debut into the US market, said Flex Auto’s Yohei Nakamura. On their Japanese website, prices range from about ¥3,060,000 ($22,800 USD) to ¥4,292,200 ($32,000 USD) for the Land Cruisers, depending on mileage. Given the prices of Land Cruisers these days, however, we expect those to be significantly higher in the US market.

If you’re interested in what Flex Auto can do for your Land Cruiser, they have a handy online configurator available. We’ve been following Flex Auto’s work for quite some time now, and will be watching their foray into the US market. The San Diego dealership is scheduled to open in winter of 2022.

Images courtesy of Flex Auto.