Details
1976 Mitsubishi Jeep J54 4WD
2. 7 Diesel • 4-Speed Manual • Japanese Market • Arriving December 2026
A genuinely fascinating piece of Japanese 4×4 history.
Arriving with us from Japan in December is this wonderfully original 1976 Mitsubishi Jeep J54, powered by the 2. 7-litre diesel engine and equipped with a 4-speed manual gearbox and four-wheel drive.
The story behind these little Mitsubishis is rather special.
In 1952, Mitsubishi’s predecessor, Shin Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, reached an agreement with America’s Willys-Overland to assemble the Jeep in Japan. The first Mitsubishi J1 was completed in 1953, initially from imported components, before Mitsubishi secured the rights to manufacture and sell the Jeep domestically and progressed to Japanese production.
Mitsubishi Motors
The design was derived from the famous Willys CJ-3B, but Mitsubishi didn’t simply produce it for a few years and move on. It continued developing the Jeep into an extensive family of Japanese-built 4x4s, offering different wheelbases, body styles and both petrol and diesel engines.
The result was an extraordinary production story. Mitsubishi states that approximately 200, 000 Mitsubishi Jeeps were sold during a 45-year run from 1953 until the final limited-edition models appeared in 1998.
This J54 dates from 1976, putting it right in the middle of that story and giving it the fantastic combination of classic Jeep styling with Mitsubishi’s rugged Japanese engineering.
It’s also part of the lineage that ultimately led Mitsubishi towards developing its own 4×4. Mitsubishi itself describes the Jeep as the origin point of its four-wheel-drive history, which eventually led to the launch of the first Pajero in 1982.
This particular J54
Finished in white with a khaki canvas hood and canvas doors, it retains exactly the purposeful, utilitarian appearance these vehicles should have.
It has covered approximately 96, 189 km (59, 800 miles) and achieved a respectable 3. 5 auction grade in Japan.
Specification includes a 2. 7-litre diesel engine, 4-speed manual gearbox, four-wheel drive, removable canvas hood and doors, steel wheels, rear-mounted spare wheel and right-hand drive.
And perhaps the best bit: remove the canvas hood and doors and you’ve got a proper open-top classic Jeep for the summer.
It’s tiny too, at only around 3. 39 metres long, giving it enormous character without the bulk of a modern 4×4.
This isn’t a modern recreation of an old Jeep. It’s a genuine 50-year-old Japanese-built Mitsubishi Jeep, descended directly from the Willys design through Mitsubishi’s official licensing agreement.
For someone who already has a Land Rover or Land Cruiser and wants something considerably more unusual, it’s a brilliant little thing.
Arriving in the UK December 2026.
Deposits are now being accepted to secure the vehicle before arrival.
Supplied UK registered and ready for its new owner