Toyota Mega Cruiser: Happy 25th Birthday, You Japanese Beast

Most of today’s SUVs are neither really sporty nor utilitarian, as they’re pretty much high-riding derivatives of regular cars.

That wasn’t the case two decades ago, when you could go out and buy the street-legal version of a military truck, like the Hummer H1 in America or Toyota Mega Cruiser in Japan. Wait, you don’t know what the Mega Cruiser is? That’s okay, because it’s estimated to have been built in just a little over 100 civilian-spec examples, and all of them were destined for the Land of the Rising Sun.

Now, as Toyota’s UK arm celebrated the 25th anniversary of the truck with a few images, we decided to step up the game by adding more pics and a couple of videos for you to delve into, so get ready to fall for one true off-roader.

A true automotive unicorn, it was initially designed as a high mobility infantry transport vehicle for the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, yet not long after, someone saw that it had a lot of potential outside the military world. It was presented in 1995 and the order books opened in January 1996. At over 197+ in (5 m) long, 86.6 in (2.2 m) wide and 82.7 in (2.1 m) tall, the Mega Cruiser was a true behemoth. It weighed 6,283 lbs (2,850 kg), could accommodate up to six occupants and had a 1,653 lbs (750 kg) payload.

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Japan’s ultimate off-road truck featured permanent four-wheel drive and was powered by a 4,104 cc inline-four turbo diesel, making 148 HP (150 PS / 110 kW), paired to a four-speed automatic gearbox with torque converter. It also had a sub-transmission with a two-speed center differential lock, and two other differentials, one on each axle. The torsion bar-type four-wheel double wishbone design, four ventilated brake discs and even four-wheel steering were all part of the build and turned it into a go-anywhere ride, especially with the 16.5 in (420 mm) ground clearance.

In the army spec, it was offered in different body styles, from vans to convertibles, but the civilian variant, which started at the equivalent of $93,600 back in the day, was offered solely as a fixed-roof model. All of them were made in right-hand drive, and ever since production ended in August 2001, and the last unit was sold the year after, they’ve been exported to countries all over the world, including Russia, the United Kingdom, Australia and even the United States.

Finding a needle in a haystack is easier than stumbling upon a civilian Mega Cruiser in the States, but if you do, don’t expect to pay anything less than six figures. On the bright side, being that it’s 25 years old now, if you do find one overseas, you can legally bring it back to the USA.