Carl Edwards sets land speed record with Toyota Landcruiser

Carl Edwards Drives World’s Fastest SUV – for Now

Since Carl Edwards‘ unexpected retirement from NASCAR, many wondered what he would do. But he obviously isn’t slowing down. Last week he piloted a custom Toyota Land Cruiser to a record speed of 230.02 mph and the claiming the title of world’s fastest SUV.

The “Land Speed Cruiser” debuted at last year’s SEMA Show. Toyota took a stock Land Cruiser and modified it at their Motorsports Technical Center. They added two monster-sized turbos to the stock 5.7L V-8, allowing for up to 55 pounds of boost. They strengthened the engine internals, modified the intake, and slipped in a racing transmission to handle the 2000 horsepower output.

To make this brick handle the intended speeds, the engineers lowered it and narrowed the frame to allow for fatter rubber to keep this beast running straight and steady. Carl Edwards took it the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California with their 2.5-mile paved straightaway.

Edwards made two successful passes in this black beauty. On his shakedown run, he topped out at 221 mph while also running out of asphalt to slow down. More boost and the second try resulted in a verified top speed of 230.02 mph. Edwards noted that at “At 225 mph, the thing was wandering a little bit. It’s safe to say that this is the fastest SUV on the planet.”

Now we wonder, can Toyota find more asphalt and try for a faster speed and break the record for World’s fastest SUV again?

Mark C. Bach is a well preserved automotive junkie, due to the Arizona dry heat. He loves anything that moves and is especially fond of muscle cars and classics.