Above you can view it in the picture 1 as the second from the left. The series of the predecessors shown here ranges from it as the oldest up to the two J 150 front right. It itself was referred to as 'J 40'. Who would have thought that once Toyota would sell as many cars as VW and Opel together in the course of its development 1960-1984? And that the Land Cruiser would beat the Jeep and all the others.

Already during the Second World War it arose after the model from Willys Jeep. The first version had even still the vertical struts in the radiator grille (pictured above), albeit with nine instead of seven sections. That changed then soon (pictured below). Around the same time with the term 'J 20' of the second generation came the name 'Land Cruiser'. Now it had taken over from its second major competitor at least a part of the name.

Australia became the first country of its dreams. The sympathies there supported it and thus the resurgent post-war Japanese industry. Already the J 20 had the six-cylinder, the J 40 took over unchanged. Fine and important, despite six-cylinder, the low range gearing. Advantageous, also the disconnectable drive shafts on the front wheels, but with the condition, to switch on again early enough.

The look of the J 40 was probably the most typical of all Land Cruiser. Vertical or horizontal struts were disappeared, and the headlights were moved closer together. Otherwise, a sheet metal box dominated the image. After all, you could remove much of the covering with little mechanical talent and transform into a convertible. Also the foldable windscreen had been taken over from the Jeep. So it has been offered relatively unchanged then for 24 years, unlike USA (video 2) in Germany without advertising and only at the express request.

Nobody would have bought such a car without any special tasks or affection. It was loud, hard and uncomfortable. Any comparisons with a Range Rover were not allowed, except perhaps in consumption. However, it was, except for rust, even of unusual solidity. It was even compact because six people could be accommodated on significantly less than four meters in length. Though, four of them sat transversely and therefore accident-prone.