The Toyota 4Runner is celebrating its 40th birthday this year, and like all older millennials, it’s looking back on days gone by. That’s why the company has created the 2023 4Runner 40th Anniversary Edition. It’s meant to harken back to the body-on-frame Toyota trucks and SUVs of old.
All in all, Toyota will make 4,040 40th Anniversary Special Edition rigs. The Anniversary Edition is based on the SR5 Premium trim, and comes standard with 4WD. You can get your new-but-vintage-inspired 4Runner in one of three colors: White, Midnight Black Metallic (shown here) and Barcelona Red Metallic. Regardless of color, you get some very cool bronze-colored 17-inch wheels, a body-color-matching TOYOTA “heritage” grille and some special badging.
The biggest change, as you may have deduced, is that sick-ass tri-colored stripe/graphics package thing that runs along the side of the truck. According to Toyota, it’s meant to be a homage to early Toyota off-road racing trucks.
I don’t know about y’all but I want the truck just for the stripe. It speaks to me.
Inside, the 40th Anniversary Edition features “exclusive badging” on the center console as well as a bronze-colored cross-stitched shift knob, bronze-colored seat stitching and a 40th Anniversary logo on the seats. Of course, no special edition vehicle would be complete without unique floor mats, either.
Right now, there’s no word from Toyota on pricing. An SR5 Premium starts around $42,000, so expect to pay a few extra bucks for this retro special edition.
Like most special editions, this is purely cosmetic. The SUV still comes with the tried-and-true 4.0-liter V6 that produces 270 horsepower and 278 lb-ft of torque, mated to an ancient five-speed automatic transmission.
Model year 2023 will be the 13th year for the current fifth-generation 4Runner, and it’s showing no signs of slowing down. However, that does mean the 4Runner is simultaneously going through its rough middle school early teen years while trying to deal with the grips of aging out of pop culture as a 40-year-old. Poor guy.