4×4S.ORGTHE REGISTRY NAMED MODEL · 1951–55
NAMED MODELSpecial · PoliceJapan

Toyota Jeep BJ.

Toyota’s first four-wheel drive: the 1951 Jeep BJ, a Type B 3.4-litre six on a truck chassis with part-time four-wheel drive and no low range, built for the National Police Reserve tender and renamed Land Cruiser in June 1954.

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Sources & evidence
BASE VEHICLELand Cruiser 20 Series (BJ/FJ25)BUILT BYToyota Motor Corporation, Toyota Auto Body (Arakawa Auto Body / Araco)IN SERVICE1951–55OPERATED INJapanPRODUCTIONAbout 1,000LAYOUT4 wheels · 94″

The record

The BJ was built in January 1951 for the police tender that Mitsubishi’s Willys won; test driver Ichiro Taira drove one to the sixth station of Mount Fuji in July 1951, higher than any vehicle had gone, and the National Police Agency ordered 298. About 300 a year were built until 1955, when the 20 Series replaced it. Willys’s objection to the name led to Land Cruiser in 1954.

Specification

MANUFACTURERToyota Motor Corporation ↗, Toyota Auto Body (Arakawa Auto Body / Araco) ↗
Koromo (Toyota City); bodies by Arakawa Auto Body
MANUFACTURED1951–55
ENGINE3.4-litre Type B petrol six, 85 hp
PRODUCTION RUNAbout 1,000 (1951–55)
COUNTRY OF ORIGINJapan
OPERATED INJapan
STATUSout of production
RECORD KINDNamed model
MODEL LINELand Cruiser 20 Series
FAMILYLand Cruiser 20 Series
WHEELS4
NOMINAL WHEELBASE94″
BODY STYLEsoft
CATEGORYSpecial · Police

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.

Variants & colours

Base model variants

AI rendering impression

An AI rendering impression starts from a 3D model of this vehicle, which an image model then paints into a scene. It is an artist's impression of the type, made to give a feel for the vehicle in its element — not a photograph, and not a record of any particular vehicle.

Proportions, fittings, markings, colours and the setting can all drift from the original in the process. For the vehicle's actual details, rely on the specification, the photographs and the cited sources on this page.

Sources

  1. 1Toyota Land Cruiser ↗Wikipedia · accessed 2026-09-22SOURCE
  2. 275 Years of Toyota — vehicle lineage ↗Toyota Motor Corporation · accessed 2026-09-22SOURCE

Registry record updated 2026-09-22 · status: researched