Unlike General Motors, which is killing off another passenger car this year, or Ford – which already only has the Mustang in that department, Toyota loves to keep its wheels firmly planted in every potential segment.
GM recently announced that Chevrolet is ditching the ninth-generation Malibu mid-size sedan later this fall, and since the Camaro died in December 2023, it will be left solely with the C8 Corvette as a passenger car nameplate. That's one for Chevrolet, one for Ford, and also one for Dodge – the all-electric or inline-six eighth-generation Charger.
In comparison, Toyota sells – only in America – the Corolla family, Prius, Camry, Mirai, Crown, and Sienna as family options. Those are not even all its passenger car nameplates – there are also the sporty representatives: GR86, GR Corolla, and GR Supra. Note how none of them are high-riders, right?
However, Toyota also offers GR Sport trim levels across international markets on crossovers, SUVs, and trucks. With that being said, and considering that the Japanese automaker has been extremely prolific in the mid-size sector with the N400 Tacoma, returning Land Cruiser, 2025 Camry, and Crown Signia, plus the adventurous 4Runner, it seems that the imaginative realm of digital car content creators really wants to see GR on everything, including high riders.
The good folks over at the AutoYa info channel on YouTube have imagined the CGI looks of the unrevealed and unannounced GR 4Runner as a continuation of their series of high-performance CUVs, SUVs, and trucks. Continuing in the footsteps of the imagined, unofficial GR Tundra, Grand Highlander GR, and GR Sequoia, this hypothetical sporty off-road truck-based SUV feels and sounds pretty damn implausible.
However, the parallel universes of vehicular CGI don't care about that, as their design projects only inhabit the land of imagination. Besides, the channel's resident pixel master somehow took the 4Runner TRD Pro i-Force Max and made it look like something that could proudly stand next to the AWD-equipped Toyota GR Corolla as a seven-seat alternative to the hot hatchback.
Naturally, the host also has a proposition for the powertrain – 400 horsepower via a twin-turbo assembly, most likely a derivative of the i-Force 2.4-liter turbo inline-four, while the CG expert was busy rendering the GR-specific details like the updated radiator grille, beefy front bumper with a massive air intake and GR badges, new side skirts and body-colored fender flares, the black wheels shod in performance tires and red brake calipers, or the ritzy elements adorning the interior.
Also, this channel's tradition is to present their design projects in a bunch of different colors – both inside and outside, so that we can select a favorite. So, do you think Toyota will ever proceed to create flagship GR-series high-riding models? Also, would anyone buy a GR 4Runner since it purposedly negates the main draw of the off-road SUV, which is to compete with the dune-bashing and rock-crawling Jeep Wrangler and Ford Bronco?
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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