Toyota went hard at this year’s Japan Mobility Show, unveiling more interesting stuff than most entire auto shows. We’re talking a six-wheeled Lexus LS minivan concept, a wild-looking preview of a future Corolla, and a wheelchair with legs instead of wheels. So much was unveiled, it would’ve been easy to miss this thing called the IMV Origin concept. Sure, it doesn’t look much more complicated than scaffolding, but that’s the point.
These days, we’re used to flat-pack wardrobes, flat-pack chairs, and even flat-pack mattresses, but what about a flat-pack car, a bit like that thing in The Grand Tour’s Mongolia special? While it’s been tried before by a handful of boutique automakers, we haven’t really seen a major automaker give it a shot until now. The premise behind the concept is interesting: A rugged little thing for developing markets that’s quite DIY-friendly. As President and CEO Koji Sato said:
Will it carry people or cargo? Will the cargo be boxes or something else?
We just build the base. From there, each customer completes the vehicle to fit their needs. As a carmaker, not finishing this vehicle was frustrating. However, not finishing it is what makes it a “for you” car, because people have different needs in their daily life and work.
So how unfinished is the IMV Origin concept? Well, we don’t know how it would ship, but it’s certainly minimalist. The whole chassis is essentially just a skateboard with a drop in the front so someone in the offset, skeletal, Ariel Nomad-esque cabin has a place to put their feet. The front bumpers are more like overriders, the seat’s about as substantial as a patio cushion, and the headlights are mounted to the dashboard. It’s a ruthless distillation of transport, a relentless pursuit of simplicity, and yet it’s endearing in its own sort-of way.
There’s something impressive about making a Taylor-Dunn look like a luxury vehicle with bourgeois decadence like a second seat and a full-width bumper and any bodywork at all ahead of the front axle. The most decadent thing on the IMV Origin is the roof, although I’m not entirely sure how much it would do given the lack of doors. However, within this sheer sparseness sits a spirit of joy. Pops of orange add liveliness, the corners of the vestigial wall at the rear of the cab are pegboarded so you could theoretically hang stuff from it, and the whole form factor screams kei truck superleggera.
What Toyota’s created here is essence of car, four tires and a steering wheel and some pedals. Pretty much nothing more than is absolutely necessary to move about, yet an open door of possibilities. Because the IMV Origin is essentially a motorized platform, it could really be turned into just about anything. A three-row people carrier, a van, a pickup truck with a homemade tray, or it could be just left as it sits. Will Toyota take it from a concept to production? Who knows, but I wouldn’t count it out. More than just mobility in rural Africa, I could see the IMV Origin being a replacement for certain off-road vehicles like John Deere Gators on golf courses and college campuses across North America. Just think of what you could do with it.
Top graphic images: Toyota; IKEA
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