I won’t waste your time with some cutesy intro. You’re reading this for the same reason I’m writing it: We’re both blown away that someone would pay $170,000 for an 80-Series Toyota Land Cruiser.
Sure, it’s maybe the nicest one left with only 4,700 miles and some change on the odometer. And yeah, it’s getting harder to find ones like this that aren’t extremely modified, or on the other side of the world. It’s just wild to see that not only is someone willing to pay so much but that they were also wrapped up in a Bring a Trailer bidding war with four other users once the auction reached $100,000. That’s not even mentioning the last time this same ’97 ‘Yota was listed in 2023 when the auction reached $165,000 and the high-bidder failed to pay in the end.
The FZJ80 Land Cruiser has a 4.5-liter 1FZ-FE gas inline-six under the hood making 212 horsepower and 275 lb-ft of torque. Power is sent to a four-speed automatic, a dual-range transfer case, and a center locking diff. That’s all pretty standard fare, but the condition is what makes it so stellar. There’s nary a spec of dust in the engine bay, or on the undercarriage. Everything is perfectly coated, from the shocks and coil springs to the fenders.
There are 786 pictures included in the listing, and you can bet they broke out the paint thickness gauge.
It has a clean California title, according to the listing, though there’s no active registration. It last passed a California emissions test in 2019 and the oil was changed just 500 miles ago. Any vehicle like this that’s barely moved throughout its life requires a thorough fluid and lube check before driving, but let’s be real—this one probably isn’t hitting the trail or even the highway anytime soon.
Unbelievably, this is the fifth 80-Series to fetch more than $100,000 on Bring a Trailer. It’s a record-sale for this generation Land Cruiser on the site, beating the previous highest-sale that actually went through at $136,000 for a 1,000-mile ’94 model three years back. In fact, to find any Land Cruiser that’s brought more money on Bring a Trailer, you’ll have to look for restomodded FJ40s and FJ43s.
Several users chimed in after the auction to say the car was “well sold.” Surely the seller agrees, and hopefully they’re taking someone they love out to a nice dinner. I’d classify this as reason to celebrate.
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