Type 95 reconnaissance car

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 "all-wheel drive". In the field, soldiers often called it the "daruma".

Only four examples remain: one built in 1941 displayed at the , one at the Retro Auto Museum in Moscow, Russia, one at the Redball Military Transport Club in Pennsylvania, USA, and one discovered in 2013 a 1939 model in a repair shop in Kyoto. It was extensively restored at the request of Masahiko Kobayashi, at a cost of ¥13.24 million (approximately USD $116,000) which was crowd-funded, and was added to a Japanese military museum. The unveiling of the restored car with running engine is shown on video at the NHK World website.

The Type 95 accommodated 3 persons - two in the front and one in the back. The two-cylinder, V-twin, four-stroke, air-cooled gasoline engine, which developed 33 PS (24 kW; 33 hp) @ 3,300rpm, was an advantage in cold climates found in China, and had 4-wheel drive, using a gearshift activated transfer case to engage the front wheels. It was manufactured without weapons and unarmored. It had advantages over the Type 97 motorcycle used by the Japanese Army, which had much less off-road mobility, and so limited troop mobility. It had tall, narrow wheels which helped it to travel over rough terrain, mud and snow.