Overlanding is all about exploring remote territory by car. In theory, it’s also supposed to be a minimalist experience—surviving with a set of gear pared down to whatever fits in the trunk. However, as overlanding has become more popular, so have expectations for more luxurious rigs.
To overland in style, you can’t get much more plush than the pair of Lexus SUVs recently for sale on eBay. The Lexus GX460 and Lexus LX570 are outfitted with rugged wheels, off-road tires, and modified suspensions. These trucks are practically ready for the zombie apocalypse (or at least a major family outdoors vacation).
2021 Hawkes Overland Lexus GX460
The GX looks especially tough due to its camouflage wrap. But open the doors, and the designers treat you to sumptuous wood grain and creamy leather. The LX also has a sweet interior.
2019 Lexus LX570 Hawkes Overlander
Rugged Trucks with Luxury Finishes
Despite the ostentatious trim, both vehicles are hard-core off-roaders. They are proper body-on-frame construction with low-range transfer cases and locking differentials. That’s bona fide four-wheeling equipment that you won’t find on 90 percent of the SUVs on the road.
2019 Lexus LX570 Hawkes Overlander
The Lexus GX is essentially a rebadged version of what is known in Australia, Africa, the Middle East, and Arctic Circle-adjacent nations as the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado. The Prado is one of the toughest trucks money can buy. It’s narrower and lighter than the standard Land Cruiser but still equipped with a 4.6-liter V-8 engine. They are built to traverse remote environments where the side mirrors barely clear trees or boulders.
2019 Lexus LX570 Hawkes Overlander
The larger Lexus LX is even more potent, based on the full-size Toyota Land Cruiser and packing a 5.7-liter V-8. Forget the Supra, the Land Cruiser is the true halo car of the Toyota brand.
A Mobile Base Camp
For the past 70 years, the Land Cruiser has been a symbol of Toyota’s durability. It’s the flagship vehicle for the UN, Red Cross, World Health Organization, and countless other humanitarian groups’ relief efforts. These groups can rely on the Land Cruiser to deliver medical supplies and aid in the most remote and disaster-stricken regions of the globe.
2019 Lexus LX570 Hawkes Overlander
In other words, Lexus built these overlanders solid. Add winches, strengthened roof racks with rooftop tents, refrigerator/freezers, light bars, and off-road GPS and communications boxes—and you have a mobile base camp. We probably would have chosen darker interior colors so mud stains on their plush carpets would hurt less, but that’s a tiny quibble.
2021 Hawkes Overland Lexus GX460
Either truck would make a great starting point for your adventure rig. Hawkes, an overland vehicle shop based in San Antonio, Tex., added the special bolt-on equipment. But there’s still a lot more you can do.
Off-roading 101 would suggest adding a snorkel for fording deep waters without hydro-locking the engine. Roof-mounted solar panels and an auxiliary battery could provide electricity when you’re off-grid. And for good measure, you could fashion a shower with a water tank, pump, and heat exchanger to bathe on the go.
With the solid framework of these capable upscale Lexus SUVs, your imagination is the only limit.
