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| Toyota isn't usually known as a car brand that takes big risks. These 10 cars and trucks prove Japan's biggest automaker doesn't always play by the rules. |
Based on Toyota's new TNGA platform - which underpins a vast (and growing) range of cars and trucks - the C-HR has a heavily sculpted concept car design, one that’s extremely close to the show-car that previewed the production model shown in Geneva.
Best known for reliability and strong resale value, Toyota as a brand doesn’t usually dabble its corporate toes into dangerous and daring waters. Or does it?
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| The Toyota C-HR, which made its global debut at the Geneva Motor Show, has a daring look that didn't fade into the background at this supercar-centric show. |
They’re proof that Toyota can do weird, seriously.
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| The Toyota 2000GT is widely recognized as being the first Japanese supercar, not to mention a blue chip collector car. |
Want to know who invented the Japanese supercar? You’re looking at it, baby. The Toyota 2000GT burst onto the scene at a time when Japanese cars were almost laughably underpowered and lacking any design panache. Like a Jaguar E-Type, the 2000GT had a clean and lean profile, and a long hood that covered an inline-6 cylinder engine. Pop-up headlights and a body crafted out of lightweight aluminum are only a few of this Toyota’s technical highlights. Granted, it was Yamaha that did the engine wizardry on the 150-hp 2.0-liter dual overhead cam engine. Yet there’s no denying that this car, a Toyota no less, is the world’s first true Japanese supercar. Just look at recent auction sales, where 2000GTs have commanded 7-figure prices.
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| The Toyota Land Cruiser earned a reputation for longevity and adventure. The FJ model, seen here, is the darling of Land Cruiser fans. |
Like a Land Rover, but stronger. And like a Jeep, but somehow even uglier. We actually love the bulldog design of the “J40” Land Cruiser, as does anyone else with a penchant for adventure – or at least the look of someone who goes hang gliding after work. The Land Cruiser is famously rugged and can be credited for being the first Toyota model to really find a footing here in the U.S. Bullet-proof engines, available AWD, ultra-low transfer cases, and even those short front and rear overhangs all conspire to make this generation of Land Cruiser the go-to choice for classic truck fans who crave the road – or rocky trail – less traveled.
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| The sturdy Corona stuck with a rear-wheel-drive format when many rivals were beginning to power their front wheels. |
Okay, we partly put this one on the list due to it sharing a name with a certain Mexican beer. But seriously, the Corona was an outlier on a mission by the time the 1974 model year (pictured here) rolled around. Not a teeny and wheezy microcar – like Subaru’s simply god-awful 360 model – it was still smaller and a lesser-known commodity than many of its main American rivals. And remember, that ignoble list included the Chevy Vega, Ford Pinto, and AMC Gremlin. Yipes! The Corona did hold onto a rear-wheel-drive format, however, at a time when Honda and Nissan were all jumping aboard the front-wheel-drive bandwagon.
1985 Toyota Truck
Behold the truck that will not die! Or it's the Toyota with no name, unless you consider “Truck” as being particularly creative. The Toyota Truck, especially the one built up to 1985, with its solid front and rear axles, is an absolute legend when it comes to longevity and rock-crawling ability. Toyota – and other Japanese micro-trucks of the era – showed that work trucks didn’t necessarily need a thumping V-8 engine to get the job done. Sure it looked like a child’s drawing of the most basic pickup on the planet, but the Toyota Truck was much more than fancy design (or a swanky name).
1985 Toyota MR2
Haven’t some of the Toyotas listed up till now been a little, shall we say, less than weird? Okay, the Corona and Truck aren’t the wackiest rides we’ve ever seen. But you can’t say the same thing about this car, the mid-engine and two-passenger MR2. The 1985 model you see before you has the edginess (and wedginess!) you’d expect from a 1980s sports car. Borrowing from eariler sport machines like the Fiat X1/9 and Lotus Eclat, the MR2 combined sharp handling and fantastic looks, along with the brand’s noted reliability. Like many of the best Japanese sports cars – Supra, NSX, Z-Car – the MR2 could be used every day and simply run forever, providing a maximum of fun and a bare minimum of repair bills.
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| The Celica All-Trac Turbo was a force on the road, and off it. This is the first Japanese sports car to make a name for itself in the world of rally racing. |
Turbo power, all-wheel-drive, a rally racing pedigree; what isn’t to love about the Toyota Celica All-Trac Turbo? It does kind of look like a bar of soap, at least until the pop-up headlights are, well, popped up. The Toyota Celica was famously capable as serving as anything from a nimble and sturdy commuter car, to being race-prepped to win grueling rallies and blaze a trail for the likes of Subaru and Mitsubishi. The All-Trac Turbo has muscle car power and leech-like grip, this was cutting-edge tech back more than two decades ago – and it still holds its own now. If the Land Cruiser proved to the world that a Toyota could go off-road, the Celica All-Trac Turbo showed the Japanese automaker could race to win (and win a lot) on any type of surface.
1991 Toyota Previa
How could anyone make a minivan weird? Well, Toyota sure did when it opted to build the jellybean-shaped and front mid-engine layout Previa. Wait, this is a mid-engine minivan? Believe it or not, the 4-cylinder in the Previa was located behind the front axle line, pretty much below the front seats. That design flourish was great for maximizing cabin room for your brood – even if the oval exterior might make the kiddies ask to be dropped off a block, or two, from their school's entrance. In the end, the quirkiness of the Previa worked against it in the conservative minivan segment. But when it comes to taking design and engineering risks, the Previa is the poster-child for wacky people movers.
1993 Toyota Camry Wagon
Okay, wait a minute. We know you might have given the Previa benefit of the doubt, even though it’s a stretch to label any minivan as being “weird.” Yet how could the Camry, especially a Camry station wagon, ever make the cut? Umm, have you looked at the photo of the 1993 model year example seen above? Crossovers and sport-utilities are all the rage, except once there was a time when handy wagons also proudly roamed the earth. The Honda Accord and Ford Taurus wagons were blandly handsome and functional, as you might expect. So maybe Toyota was trying to set itself apart with a wagon that looked, ahem, pretty unconventional. Yes, it looks like a hearse to us too. That bizarre upward swing of the rear fender into the D-pillar gives the last Camry wagon sold on U.S. shores a look you’ll never forget.
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| Wild performance, along with one wild wing; the Supra (especially in Turbo format) was a match for the world's best sports cars. |
Hold on tight, because ‘Weird Toyota’ is about to become ‘Crazy Fast Toyota!’ The 1995 Supra sports car, seen here, came when Japanese automakers had finally decided to let their hair down and ignore a gentleman’s agreement to limit their vehicles to no more than 276-horsepower. The twin-turbocharged version of the fourth-gen Supra also sported one of the wildest rear wings since the Plymouth Superbird rolled onto dealer lots in 1970. There is more than a hint of 2000GT in the Supra’s overall shape, though the final effort is definitely more brutish than beautiful – we mean that as a compliment. The 320-hp 3.0-liter engine (in turbo format) is also famous for being highly tunable, and it’s not unheard of for some examples to churn out more than 1,000 horsepower.
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| Cutesy details - like those small rear doors - detracted from the tough-guy image portrayed by the retro-themed FJ Cruiser. |
Toyota was feeling nostalgic when it decided to create a modern reboot of the iconic FJ Land Cruiser. The FJ Cruiser seemed a long shot when it arrived as a concept car in 2003 but, in only a few short years, this crazy looking truck was rolling down the production line. Based on the 4Runner platform, the FJ Cruiser has serious off-road credential, thanks to its true truck-based running gear. Too bad the chintzy-looking rear doors detract from the macho appeal – a two-door design would have been far cooler. Still, people are wild about the FJ Cruiser, it currently boasts some of the best resale value you’ll find this side of uncut diamonds.
Source : nydailynews.com
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