- If you can’t beat them, join them
- A Land Cruiser for everyone, even warlords
- Deserts and pack ice and beneath the earth
- Forbidden, expensive fruit
In July of 1951, Toyota test driver Ichiro Taira arrived at the sixth checkpoint of the Mount Fuji trail, the farthest any such pilgrim had climbed. Hiking up Japan’s holy mountain is still a longstanding tradition today, but Taira’s accomplishment was unusual for a mechanical reason: he had driven there.
The vehicle that made this first and highest climb of one of Japan’s most recognized icons did not yet carry the nameplate that would become another of Japan’s most recognized icons. It was called the Toyota Jeep BJ, a prototype off-road vehicle designed to fit the requirements of the U.S. Army. The Korean War had kicked off the previous year, and Toyota was among several Japanese companies asked to produce equipment for the war effort.
Taira’s success was noted by the Japanese national police agency, and civilian orders for this new Toyota began pouring in. A few years later, as the rising interest spurred production, Toyota turned to the U.K. for inspiration. There, the boxy and simple Land Rover was gaining a following among everyone, from farmers to explorers. Toyota picked a name for its truck that executives considered to be equally worthy: the Land Cruiser.
1970 Toyota Land Cruiser Photo by Toyota
Since that first ascent of Fuji, the Land Cruiser has been considered Japan’s true ambassador to off-roading. It is still used to explore the farthest reaches of the planet, has developed into wildly specialized versions everywhere from Iceland to Saudia Arabia, and can even be found crawling along beneath the surface of the earth.
It is also only available in the North American market as a Lexus, the LX. With its massive Darth Vader grille, luxury appointments, and six-figure price tag, this behemoth seems very far removed from the rickety contraption that once struggled up a famous volcano. But the bones are all there, a seven-decade soul of ruggedness beneath the polished exterior.
If you can’t beat them, join them
Toyota Jeep BJ
Before the Land Cruiser earned its name, it was essentially a copy of a captured Willys Jeep. When Japan invaded the Philippines in the Second World War, American Jeeps were sent back to the homeland to be studied. Toyota was assigned to produce something similar to the American’s tough little combustion-engined mule.
The AK10, as Toyota’s effort was known, arrived too late to see much action. It didn’t really improve on the attributes of the Willys Jeep in any way, and there the story might have ended, had not another war in the east arrived all too soon after the Second. Japan became an important military base during the Korean War, and Toyota was once again asked to build general-purpose vehicles for military use — this time for U.S. forces.
The BJ was a little larger and more powerful than the American Jeep, but it was still far from polished. By the second generation, launched in 1955, the Land Cruiser was now a more coherent product, at least as appealing as a Jeep or Land Rover. Exports began to Australia and South America – Brazilian-made Land Cruisers were the first Toyotas built outside of Japan – and in 1958, Toyota began selling Land Cruisers in the U.S. Sorry, that’s Land Cruiser, singular. It’d sold exactly one.
Toyota Land Cruiser FJ25 Photo by Toyota
The first North American Land Cruiser was an FJ25. It came with a 3.9L inline-six engine that was good for a little under 120 hp, a three-speed manual transmission, four-wheel-drive, and drum brakes at all four corners. The driving experience was as agricultural as being hit in the face with a shovel, and the second owner reportedly used it as a snowplow.
But just as the tiny Datsun pickup truck helped Nissan get a toehold on this side of the Pacific, the Land Cruiser would be Toyota’s way of getting traction in North America. By the early 1960s, the 40-series Land Cruiser was easily the most popular Toyota in the U.S. It was as simple and capable as a Jeep, but was starting to build a reputation for being as unbreakably reliable as a stone axe.
A Land Cruiser for everyone, even warlords
Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40 Photo by Toyota
The FJ40 was the first truly successful Land Cruiser, and became a lasting icon for Toyota. Nicely restored examples are very collectible today.
However, a broader appeal for the Land Cruiser brand would arrive in the person of the FJ55, which offered a blend of station-wagon capacity and four-wheel-drive capability. With four doors and a spacious trunk, the FJ55 was a more family-friendly Land Cruiser. People called it the “Iron Pig,” but with affection.
Things got even more brood-oriented with the FJ60 that followed the ’55, as the Land Cruiser moved into the 1980s. These were much better behaved on the road than any Land Cruiser of the past, but were still just as off-road-ready as any Land Cruiser of the past. Essentially, the Land Cruiser was now something of a rival to the Range Rover, and if the British offering was a bit fancier, the Toyota would never let you down.
Despite being the poster child for suburban living, the Land Cruisers of the 1980s were also really popular for another reason. In some markets, they were also available as pickup truck variants, and it became very popular for various militia groups to mount heavy machine guns on the beds. At the time, this was a little bit like seeing a rocket launcher strapped to a Volvo 240.
But because of their reliability and toughness, the Land Cruiser turned out to be an unbeatable weapon. There was even an entire war named after it: the Harb Tūyūtā, or Great Toyota War. Taking place in 1987, this conflict saw the lightly-armed troops of Chad throw the Libyan army out on its collective ear, thanks to squadrons of Chadian Land Cruisers.
Deserts and pack ice and beneath the earth
Toyota Land Cruiser 80-series Photo by Toyota
The desert-crossing capabilities of a Land Cruiser made them the vehicle of choice everywhere from Africa to the Middle East. For the latter, various types of Land Cruiser-related motorsport emerged, from drag-racing on sand to hurtling through the dunes. Often these Land Cruisers would be modified with hugely powerful turbocharged engines, spitting fire in the desert nights.
However, easily the craziest-looking Land Cruisers are those you’ll find around Iceland and Greenland. Any expedition venturing out onto frozen Arctic ice wants to be sure of getting back, so they fit their Land Cruisers with massive balloon tires and huge auxiliary fuel tanks. These things look like monster trucks, but they actually tread very softly, floating over the frozen ocean or across broken volcanic rock.
Not to be outdone, Canada has its own homegrown lunatic Land Cruiser. The same 70-series Land Cruiser that was so popular with Chadian troops is available from several Canadian specialist mine suppliers. Here, Land Cruisers are modified for various types of work, with onboard scissor lifts, or open cockpits for shorter height clearance. There’s even an all-electric variant to eliminate diesel emissions when driving along a mineshaft.
Forbidden, expensive fruit
2022 Toyota Land Cruiser Photo by Toyota
The latest version of the Land Cruiser, the 300-series, launched last year with a new twin-turbocharged V6, and an available turbodiesel that produces an eyebrow-raising 500 lb-ft of torque. It’s tougher than ever, it’s more capable than ever, it’s more not-available than ever. We can’t have one.
Toyota says the reason is simple: that people don’t buy the Land Cruiser in volume any more. The 4Runner and the Sequoia are already there, so adding a Land Cruiser into the mix, likely at a higher price point, doesn’t make sense. It’s not that it wouldn’t sell any of them, it’s just that it wouldn’t be worth the effort. A shame really, as the Land Cruiser is a bit more special than the Tundra-based Sequoia.
The 2022 Lexus LX 600 Ultra Luxury Photo by Lexus
However, profit margins are a little different over at Lexus, where an expensive, ultra-capable SUV makes a lot more sense sales-wise. The LX 600 gets the same 409-hp twin-turbo V6 as the Land Cruiser, the same tough chassis, adjustable height suspension, and proper four-wheel-drive with low-range. It also gets a host of luxury trimmings, from diamond-stitched leather to a typically-Lexus-excellent stereo. All of which comes at a cost, but then again, it’s not like a Range Rover is inexpensive, and that’s the closest comparison here.
From behind the wheel, the LX 600 is a big truck, anything but light on its feet. But there’s a solidity you can feel, a sense that the rare owner who actually takes one off-road will be shocked by its capability. Beneath the glitz and the mass, there still lurks the spirit of a plucky machine that once climbed a mountain. Seventy years later, there’s nothing a Land Cruiser can’t conquer.
Keyword: Evolutionary: How the Toyota Land Cruiser conquered every sort of terrain