by A Life in Two Dimensions
Only some cars manage to live two completely different lives while remaining almost unchanged. The Toyota Land Cruiser 40 Series is one of them. Introduced in 1960, it was produced in Brazil until 2001 under the name Bandeirante. Recently, a particularly well-preserved example with relatively low mileage and such a specific history that it’s hard to invent has been put up for sale.
Service on the Runway
While most FJ40s spend their days traversing off-road trails and overcoming obstacles, this 1989 Brazilian Toyota Bandeirante spent its life in a repetitive routine. For almost four decades, its world was limited to the smooth asphalt of a small airport.
This mustard-yellow workhorse was based at the Rubem Berta International Airport in Uruguaiana and belonged to the federal aviation authority Infraero. Its sole task was towing baggage carts from the terminal to the aircraft and back, which it did with calm consistency.
Since it never left the airport grounds, the odometer shows an incredibly modest 33,986 km, or 21,117 miles. As the seller explained, this amounts to approximately 3 km, or 1.8 miles, of daily use over thirty years—barely a warm-up for a Land Cruiser built to cross continents.
The only evidence of its professional past is a hole in the roof for mounting an airport siren. Unfortunately, the baggage trailer that was its companion for decades was sold to another buyer at a government auction.
Under the Hood — Mercedes Power
The Bandeirante may look almost identical to the global Land Cruiser FJ40 version, but a surprise hides under the hood. Instead of a Toyota engine, a 4.0-liter four-cylinder diesel from Mercedes-Benz is installed here. Its power is 89 hp, and torque is 265 Nm, transmitted to all four wheels via a four-speed manual gearbox.
Otherwise, the vehicle remains practically original, with the factory instrument panel and interior showing only minor signs of wear on the three-spoke steering wheel.
This classic Toyota is currently offered for sale in Brazil for a price of 38,000 euros. The seller stated readiness to deliver the Bandeirante to any port in North America, Europe, Japan, or Oceania, giving the former airport tug a chance to finally see roads beyond the perimeter of the runway.
Stories like this remind us of the incredible durability and versatility of vehicles built for work. They also show how ordinary, routine service can become the best preservation for machinery, keeping it in original condition for decades. This Bandeirante essentially spent its life in the airport’s “time capsule,” and now awaits a new life, perhaps one much more suited to its legendary capabilities.
