The first Land Cruiser sold under that name: the 20 Series of 1955–60, a civilian development of the 1951 Toyota Jeep BJ, on 90- and 96-inch wheelbases with the 3.9-litre F six-cylinder petrol engine from 1955.
MODEL LINELand Cruiser 20 SeriesBUILT BYToyota Motor Co., Ltd.PRODUCED1955–60PRODUCTIONNo separate 20 Series total published by ToyotaLAYOUT4 wheels · 90″
The record
Toyota built the Jeep BJ in 1951 for the National Police Reserve on a truck chassis with the 3.4-litre B engine; the Land Cruiser name was adopted in June 1954 after Willys objected to 'Jeep'. The 20 Series that followed in 1955 softened the BJ's lines, lengthened the wheelbase and, from 1955, took the F engine — a 3.9-litre inline six derived from a Chevrolet design — that would power Land Cruisers for two decades. Short (FJ25) and long (FJ28/35) wheelbases were offered with soft top, hard top and pick-up bodies. It was the first Land Cruiser exported in numbers, to Latin America and Australia among others, before the 40 Series replaced it in 1960.
Research status: draft — identification, dates or figures could not all be pinned down; the summary says what is unresolved.
Specification
MANUFACTURERToyota Motor Co., Ltd.
MANUFACTURED1955–60
ENGINE3.9 L F inline-six petrol (from 1955); 3.4 L B four-cylinder petrol on the BJ
PRODUCTION RUNNo separate 20 Series total published by Toyota; a few tens of thousands
COUNTRY OF ORIGINJapan
STATUSreplaced by the 40 Series in 1960
RECORD KINDBase model
MODEL LINELand Cruiser 20 Series
FAMILYLand Cruiser 20 Series
WHEELS4
NOMINAL WHEELBASE90″
BODY STYLESoft top
VARIANTS3
Catalogue fields describe the vehicle's structure and body as this registry records it. They are not certified factory measurements, and no performance figures are published here.
Body styles & colours
Body style
Imagery
No published image yetA rendering impression or a free-licence photograph will appear here once one is published
