Thierry Sabine’s Toyota Land Cruiser BJ43 that served as an organizers’ vehicle at the inaugural Dakar Rally in 1979 was sold for €115,000 on Sunday. The winning bid cast was €100 thousand then bumped up to the final number with the buyers premium.

The BJ43 was acquired by Sabine in 1978 for himself and his wife Diane to scout the route ahead of the first Paris–Dakar Rally. After the race began that December, the vehicle was driven by Sabine and Daniel Lentaigne as a support car to help competitors in trouble. Officially, the #200 Land Cruiser did not reach the finish because of an electrical issue, but it still made it to Dakar.

It was eventually sold after the 1980 race and was privately owned before being acquired by Teseven Toyota Classic, who restored the BJ43 to its original state. The project spanned roughly 450 work hours and included both period-accurate and new components. Diane Thierry-Mieg drove it at the 2024 La Route des Légendes.

The auction was held as part of Bonhams’ Zoute Sale at Het Zoute, a neighborhood in the Belgian coastal city of Knokke-Heist.

“After something that can traverse lakes, here’s something that can and did traverse deserts,” remarked auctioneer James Knight, segueing from a 1972 Riva Olympic Speedboat.

The Land Cruiser was one of 175 lots at the Zoute Sale.

It wasn’t the only rally raid vehicle to participate in an auction over the weekend. On Saturday, the six-wheeled Jules II Proto that ran the 1984 Dakar and the first Citroën ZX Rallye Raid were auctioned off at Aguttes Auction & Motion in Brussels, but neither had a buyer.

Featured image credit: Bonhams