Harsh Japanese Hummer: Toyota BXD10 Mega Cruiser (8 photos)

This is Toyota's largest SUV that can rival the legendary Hummer H1 in almost all respects. This car started a career in the military before going to Australia to star in 2021 film Godzilla vs. Kong.





In far, far away Australia appeared at a local auction a very curious car, outwardly very reminiscent of the American HMMWV. It only comes from Japan.



This is a Toyota Mega Cruiser, a very rare car, produced in about 3000 copies, specially for the Japanese domestic market, and this is not ordinary JDM, and a purely military vehicle made for Japanese military. Some also went to firefighters.





The concept of the Mega Cruiser was based on the American all-terrain vehicle, as you might guess, and the similarities here are not only external, but also on the technical side there are many coincidences, especially on chassis. The same portal bridges and brakes located next to gearboxes, and not wheels, which introduces its own characteristics, such as small buildup of the car after a stop.



If at the same time there is also play in the final drives, then even feeling like the car "goats" when braking, on a flat road. At Hammer, by the way, this effect also occurs.

It is expected to see something familiar under the hood, in the form of a diesel V8, but-oh... it's not here. The engine is also diesel, but in-line, four-cylinder, power 150 hp This is a 4.1 liter turbodiesel, this was put on light trucks like Toyota Dyna, on some other small buses. The transmission is automatic, unlike the HMMWV, the option of a manual box is not provided here in principle.



Despite the presence of a turbine, the dynamic performance of the machine is not boast, she goes as slowly as the Hummer. However, what miracles can be expected from an engine designed for commercial truck. High-torque on the bottoms, simple and reliable, here are these parameters more important than speed. Unification is also important, so the car in literally assembled from various parts of existing models, well except perhaps the body and hodovka.



The most important difference from the Hammer on the technical side can be called controlled rear axle, so in the city, especially on the narrow streets of Mega The Cruiser is more comfortable than its American counterpart. Japan small a country with cramped cities, this prompted engineers to complicate structures for control.



The interior space - well, you can see everything yourself, the car is military. it 10-seat version, but the 4-seat pickup was more common, which in the back were two folding benches.



Considering the small circulation and the fact that the "Japanese hummer" was collected exclusively in the right-hand drive version, to see it in the secondary market is a big surprise. Especially in Australia. Therefore, the price of 100,000 Australian dollars are not surprising, and the location of the steering wheel in this case suitable, but who and why might need such a transport for me remains a mystery.