Toyota’s US-based design studio Calty (yes, the name is just a mash-up of the words ‘California’ and ‘Toyota’) is celebrating its 50th birthday this year, and its present to itself is this fantastic Toyota Baby Lunar Cruiser concept. Better than a pair of novelty socks, that’s for sure.
The BLC is “built to conquer rugged terrain on Earth and beyond,” says the Japanese carmaker, although it’s only a concept for now so it’s restricted to doing that in the virtual world.
Still, it is an extremely cool thing. And despite the futuristic, extraterrestrial looks, we can clearly see the influences of the original FJ40 Land Cruiser. Pretty neat.
OTHER STORIES YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED:
We imagine the next-gen Mazda 6 as a rear-wheel-drive sports sedan
Toyota should just go ahead and make this Land Cruiser Prado pickup concept a reality
We’re told that Calty wanted to blend those classic 4x4 vibes with “the futuristic capabilities of an interplanetary exploration vehicle” and that the BLC also draws some of its inspiration from the real-life Lunar Cruiser that’s being developed by Toyota for the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
There is some actual detail on the Baby Lunar Cruiser, too. We’re told it would be propelled by in-wheel electric motors, and that drivers would control the thing using dual joysticks rather than a steering wheel. There’s also a huge augmented-reality dash display and airless tires, because getting a puncture on the Moon is not ideal.
Would you like to see this thing on a lunar mission? Or perhaps Toyota might just fancy making a real version for us mere mortals on this planet? We can dream...
More photos of the Toyota Baby Lunar Cruiser concept:
NOTE: This article first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
