The Toyota Compact Cruiser lays the groundwork for what may be the next purely electric SUV, a vehicle that could inherit the adventurous spirit of the Land Cruiser.
The Toyota Compact Cruiser EV has recently received the best design award at the International Car Design Award in the Concept Vehicles category. This award of recognized international prestige has encouraged the top managers of the Japanese firm to publish more images and data of the most attractive vehicle.
For now, the Toyota Compact Cruiser EV is just a concept, a laboratory vehicle that the Japanese firm can use to research and develop new technologies. The aesthetic traces of this spectacular vehicle were carried out at the Toyota Europe Design Development Center (ED2) in Nice, France.
According to the images shown, everything indicates that Toyota designers have been inspired by the first generation of the Land Cruiser and the company’s off-road heritage and tradition. The Compact Cruiser EV has certain details reminiscent of the FJ Cruiser.
headlights reminiscent of the J80 and cleaner lines have been added. Other elements on the outside such as the large protection pieces, the bumpers and wheel arches with square shapes, and the remarkable free height of the bodywork concerning the ground serve to reinforce a very robust design.
In a press release, Toyota claims that the Compact Cruiser’s target audience is ” young, professional city dwellers who enjoy active outdoor leisure interests .”
At a technical level, for the moment no information has been published in this regard, although various unofficial sources of information anticipate that the possible production model derived from the Compact Cruiser could be developed under the specific eTNGA platform for electric vehicles, in such a way that some of its components could be similar or shared with the already disclosed bZ4x.
