Last summer Lexus pulled the cover off of its all-new GX 550 luxury SUV. Ahead of its release for the North American market, the Japanese marque prepared a special go-anywhere build for the 2023 SEMA Show dubbed the GX 550 Overtrail+ AAP in order to demonstrate the new generation’s potential for off-roading and overlanding. And with the company now being poised to unleash the new model onto the Japanese market, it’s now built yet another ruggedized GX off-road concept, this time debuting the project at this year’s Tokyo Auto Salon.
Christened the GX 550 “Overtrail” JAOS Version, this collaborative concept model was customized by Lexus and Japanese tuning firm JAOS Corporation and aimed to display the 4WD SUV’s conduciveness to off-roading, without bestowing the vehicle with any major modifications, limiting the build to bolt-on and aftermarket additions. The GX 550 “Overtrail” JAOS Version benefits from the addition of a custom front bumper that’s crafted from lightweight and highly rigid ABS resin and equipped with a pair of embedded LED auxiliary lights. The sides of the vehicle have also been fortified via custom tubular steel rock sliders with resin steps while the SUV’s 350-hp twin-turbo 3.4-liter V6 is now protected via a 4mm aluminum skid plate.
Massively increasing the GX’s go-anywhere capabilities is a BATTLEZ VFCA Lift Kit complete with Harmofleq built-in adjustable dampers and titanium-infused springs. What’s more, the entire thing now rides on a set of 18” wheels that have been wrapped in beefy Toyo Open Country A/T tires. In order to open up space for the build’s larger wheels and tires, and increased suspension travel, Lexus and JAOS have bestowed the donor with matte black-finished bolt-on ABS fender flares. Rounding out the build is a black-anodized aluminum roof rack and a Mud Guard III kit with EVA flaps and an aluminum plate — both courtesy of JAOS.
The Lexus GX 550 “Overtrail” JAOS Version has just finished its time on display at the Tokyo Auto Salon, and while this year’s annual event has come to a close, this almost certinatly won’t be the last Overtrail project we see from Japanese luxury car-maker this year.
