Yahoo Autos Rare 2-Door Second-Gen Toyota 4Runner Found on Bring a Trailer
The second-generation Toyota 4Runner arrived for 1990, and its available four-door body style marked a major departure from the original 4Runner.
A two-door body style was still available, however, but it represented just a fraction of 4Runner sales.
This example also has a manual transmission, making it an even rarer configuration.
Toyota has recently introduced a sixth-generation 4Runner, and it's bigger than ever, more powerful, and more crammed with technology. This has irked some 4Runner purists, who prefer their Toyota SUVs simple, durable, and with the resale value of a gold ingot.
Well, if you'd prefer your 4Runner from the old school, then we've got just the machine for you. This 1991 two-door 4Runner SR5 V-6 with an honest-to-goodness five speed manual transmission, up for sale on Bring a Trailer (which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos), is a throwback to when the 4Runner still cleaved to its Hi-Lux-pickup roots.
These days, when a manufacturer wants to build an SUV and call it a coupe, that usually just means sloping the rear roofline calling it a day. This Toyota is a genuine two-door, much like the pickup-based first-generation 4Runner—although the rear roof section doesn't lift off like the original's did.
Instead you get a folding bench seat for passengers or a cavernous amount of room for camping gear, mountain bikes, or whatever other sort of outdoorsy lifestyle gear you'd like to throw in this thing. Swing away the spare-tire carrier and you can fold down rear tailgate—just the thing for perching on and scarfing down a sandwich and coffee before lacing up your hiking boots and hitting the trail.
This example has a few blemishes, but hails from Vancouver, British Columbia, a place that is very much of the outdoors lifestyle persuasion. Even better, it's a city of far milder winters than the rest of Canada, so this Toyota hasn't been exposed to the kind of sheetmetal-eating salty roads you'd get in, say, Toronto.
The 3.0-liter V-6 was good for 150 horsepower and 180 pound-feet of torque when knew, an unstressed and smooth-revving driving experience. Recent service includes a new timing belt about 14,000 miles ago, replacement of various suspension parts (tie rods, antiroll-bar links, lower ball joints, etc.), and new KYB shocks and springs. The odometer reads the kilometers equivalent of 110,000 miles.
This two-door configuration with a manual is exceedingly rare. And the combination of mechanical simplicity and manual operation means this 4Runner should provide a genuine sport-utility driving experience for years to come. This was the era where Toyota products didn't sell on flash or gimmicks, but on relentlessly polished engineering.
The new 4Runner has its charms, and you can't argue with the way Toyota manages to hit modern emissions and safety targets while still building a competent off-roader with plenty of punch. But there's something to be said for the days when the 4Runner was more basic, with not a touchscreen in sight. With no reserve on the auction, this 4Runner is going home with some dedicated Toyota fan who's going to love getting out there in the wild.
The auction ends on November 19.
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