New Toyota Baby Lunar Cruiser EV Concept Introduced.

New Toyota Baby Lunar Cruiser EV Concept, Introduced.

After 50 years in California, Toyota’s California design studio is looking ahead to the next 50 years and believes an all-electric “Baby Moon Cruiser” is the best way to express what the future holds

Toyota’s American design studio in El Segundo, California, known as CALTY Design Research, celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. To give an idea of what U.S. employees envision for the next 50 years, they were tasked with creating a vision for the future.

What better way to look forward than to look up and at the moon? Inspired by Toyota’s work with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, CALTY decided to have some fun with the idea of space exploration and created the Baby Moon Cruiser (BLC).

Blending elements of the true Lunar Cruiser concept with the brand’s history, CALTY has created a lunar rover with design cues inspired by the FJ40 Land Cruiser. The grille on the front of the Baby Lunar Cruiser and especially the “TOYOTA” text aim to reveal the off-road history of the brand.

But it’s not all retro. A protruding glass canopy provides exceptional visibility and, in addition to the BLC’s compact proportions, helps it safely tackle any terrain. A panoramic, augmented reality dashboard display and airless tires with in-wheel electric motors will help astronauts navigate any landscape.

The interior of the BLC features space frame seats and MOLLE panels that make it highly adjustable. This allows the crew to adjust the vehicle to be prepared for any adventure they may encounter. Although BLC was slightly more fun than CALTY, it was precisely this spirit of exploration and daring that drew Toyota to California when it established its design studio in 1973.

“California was a young, vibrant epicenter of new ideas, a great car culture, and a glamorous film industry that inspired CALTY to create innovative designs and set new trends,” said Kevin Hunter, the studio’s president.

Hunter adds that CALTY’s role over the next 50 years will be to discover, innovate and inspire. “We are excited to continue pushing the boundaries in automotive design.”

Source: https://www.carscoops.com/2023/10/new-toyota-baby-lunar-cruiser-ev-concept-takes-the-fj40-to-the-moon/