The Coolest FJ Cruiser You Never Knew Existed Is For Sale
YouTube is one giant rabbit hole. You go there for a two-minute tutorial on how to replace a part and an hour later you find yourself watching some car guys on the other side of the world jump a car you’ve never heard of. It’s such a time burglar. It should be criminal!
However, sometimes you find perplexing gems such as this 2017 Toyota FJ Cruiser on 37-inch Nitto Mud Grapplers. Though Toyota discontinued the FJ Cruiser in the U.S. in 2014, it’s still produced globally in a few markets. While you can watch the video HERE, you’ll probably walk away with more questions than answers as we did. Digging a little deeper, we found this 2017 FJ Cruiser is actually for sale on a Rally Car enthusiast page called Rally24. It’s listed as a “T1 Rally Raid Toyota FJ Racing TRD Off Road 4x4” and said to be “prepared to participate in the Dakar races.”
Unfortunately, the details beyond that are not great. No to be discouraged, we broke down the video and deciphered as much as we could about this awesome FJ.
Powertrain
Under the hood is a 4.0L V6, which is putting down 260 horsepower according to the listing. Backing the V6 is the six-speed manual, which is connected to the original manual-shift transfer case.
Interior
The inside has been completely gutted. In lieu of carpet and plush touchpoints, you’ll find a full interior ‘cage with a custom dash and quick-release steering wheel. There’s also a set of Sparco suspension seats and harness to keep occupants safely in place.
Suspension
The suspension details on listing state “12 Fox shocks and bumpstops.” We’re assuming the 12 they are referring to is 12-inch-travel. The bodies appear to be 2.0. While the front looks to be a long travel A-arm setup, the rear is clearly a coilover and bypass multilink configuration. It also appears the stock 8-inch rear axle.
Tires & Wheels
The FJ Cruiser was a popular enthusiast vehicle in the U.S., but never quite got the aftermarket support that the Jeep Wrangler benefits from. This is one of the reasons we rarely see them modified with anything larger than a 35-inch-tall tire. When we saw this one was running a 37x13.50R17 Nitto Mud Grappler, we got pretty excited. This 37-inch-tall Grappler is mounted on a 17-inch KMC wheel. As one of the most aggressive tires in the Nitto lineup, the Mud Grappler was a smart choice for this off-road racer. To give the FJ a better weight balance, the rear door was removed to allow the full-size spare to hang out back.
Fiberglass
Replacing most of the sheetmetal on the FJ are fiberglass panels. This shaved a good bit of weight off of a somewhat portly vehicle. Interestingly, the owner opted to ditch maybe the most iconic part of the FJ, the OE grille and headlight setup. In its place appears to be a set of LED headlights from a Range Rover.
In Motion
From the video we watched, it’s clear that the FJ runs and drives. But, it wasn’t doing anything extreme to showcase just how well it will work in more challenging terrain. The seller states that it was purchased new from Toyota and built into this, so we’re sure there was a lot invested. It also states that it’s never been rolled or in an accident, so this wasn’t a salvaged FJ (which probably would have been much cheaper to start off with!). As of writing this, the listing is still live (Click Here). So, if you want one heck of a unique FJ, this is a pretty cool option.
Want to see some FJ’s in action? Check out the FJ Summit.
