Toyota Mega Cruiser Is Japan’s Off-Road Dinosaur You Can Now Import In The US

It’s been 25 years since the world first met the awesomely named Mega Cruiser, Toyota’s answer to the Hummer H1, and that means that you now import one of these off-road giants legally into the US – that is, if you can find one.

First noticed by the Drive, the Toyota Mega Cruiser turns 25 this year joining a long list of cars that were never available as new in this corner of the Earth, but it’s also one of the rarest. While we couldn’t verify the number, Toyota has reportedly produced just 151 examples of the Mega Cruiser for civilians, with only 12 of them being left-hand drive.

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Just like the Hummer H1, the Toyota Mega Cruiser was developed as an all-terrain vehicle for military purposes; the road-legal variant was sold exclusively in Japan on a built-to-order basis. The few customer cars were built by hand between 1995 and 2002, and were subject to heavy taxation due, among others, to their enormous size.

In fact, the Mega Cruiser is even bigger than the Hummer H1. The Japanese off-road monster is 16 inches (40 cm) longer and 7 inches (18 cm) taller than Arnie’s second-favorite vehicle. Despite the gargantuan dimensions, interior room is best described as compromised, mostly because of the drivetrain having to live within the cabin for maximum ground clearance.

Power comes from a very robust 4.1-liter, four-cylinder (!) turbodiesel unit that pumps out 152 HP and 282 lb-ft (382 Nm) of torque. A four-speed auto transmission is responsible for sending the power to all four wheels via a two-speed transfer case.

As you might have guessed already, the Mega Cruiser comes fully equipped for off-road dominance, complete with portal axles, independent suspension front and rear, three locking differentials and a rear-wheel steering for a tighter turning circle – but if you want a full tour, you can check Chris O’Neill’s excellent video right below.

It’s safe to say that the Mega Cruiser is a true unicorn; a massive fat unicorn to be exact, so don’t expect to have many chances at getting one in your driveway. However, if you are determined on getting one, there’s one of the rarer left-hand drive examples currently for sale, priced at $109,900, over at Hemmings. Oh, and one more thing: you’ll have to ship it from Kazakhstan…