Kurogane Type 95

Type 95 "Yonki"
Russian soldiers posing with a captured Type 95 following the Battle of Khalkin-Gol
Overview
Manufacturer	Tokyu Kurogane Kogyo
Production	1936–1944
Assembly	Ōmori, Ōta, Tokyo, Japan
Designer	Tetsushi Makita (蒔田鉄司)
Body and chassis
Class	All-terrain vehicle
Body style	2-door roadster 2-door pickup truck 4-door phaeton
Layout	Front-engine, four-wheel-drive layout
Powertrain
Engine	1.2 L (prototype) 1.3 L 1.4 L air-cooled, OHV V-twin 2 cylinder engine
Dimensions
Wheelbase	2,000 mm (78.7 in)
Length	3,600 mm (141.7 in)
Width	1,520 mm (59.8 in)
Height	1,680 mm (66.1 in)
Curb weight	1,100 kg (2,425.1 lb)

The Type 95 was a Japanese scout car built by Tokyu Kurogane Industries (東急くろがね工業, Tōkyū Kurogane Kōgyō^?), and was used during the war with China and World War II in the East. Between 1936 and 1944 approximately 4,700 were built. It was the only completely Japanese designed reconnaissance car ever used by the Imperial Japanese Army, which tended to use civilian cars.

It is the world's first four-wheel-drive passenger vehicle placed into mass production before the Willys MB (Jeep), which was introduced in 1941, the Daimler Dingo in 1940, the Volkswagen Schwimmwagen introduced in 1942, and the GAZ-61 in 1938. Its nickname is the "Yonki" (よんき) which in Japanese means "woodpecker". In the field, soldiers often called it the "daruma".

In 2013, an example built in 1938 was found in a repair shop in Kyoto, having fallen into disrepair. At the request of Masahiko Kobayashi, it underwent an extensive restoration process that was crowd-funded for restoration costs amounting to ¥13.24 million, or approximately USD $116,000 and having been added to a Japanese military museum. A video was made of the car's unveiling, showing the restored vehicle and engine running, which can be seen at the NHK World website. At the , an example built in 1941 is on display; the 1938 example was important because it was a verified example of a four-wheel drive passenger car having been built first in Japan. Until the example was found in Kyoto, it was thought that only three remaining examples were known to exist; the example on display at the Motorcar Museum of Japan, one in Moscow, Russia at the "Retro Auto Museum" and one in a Pennsylvania military equipment club called the "Redball Military Transport Club".