A free van der Pol oscillator is governed by an autonomous ordinary differential equation that has a nonlinear displacement-dependent damping-like term. For the case of a large coefficient of nonlinearity, this term can have a changeable sign, as a result of which relaxation oscillations appear. They consist of periodic upper and lower slow flow and fast vertical changes of the amplitude (jumps). This study shows that such behaviour can also occur in the system governed by a non-autonomous ordinary differential equation - a bistable oscillator driven by low-frequency external forcing. The question is posed as to how one could design this forced system to have the same response characteristics as the unforced van der Pol oscillator in terms of jump points and the period, which are the first links to have been established between these two archetypical nonlinear oscillators. In addition, as mechanical manifestations of the van der Pol oscillator are rarely found, the results presented in this work potentially open up new possibilities for the design of analogous mechanical systems.