Photo: Toyota/Calty Design
The way you deliver your goods tells a lot about your company. A simple standard panel van might do its job properly, but if you have to provide some exclusive services/goods it might help to use some funkier wheels. That’s why Toyota came up with the Urban Utility concept or the U2 (U-squared, not like the band).
Drawn by Calty Design Studios, the same responsible for the stunning FT-1 concept, the U2 concept appears to provide everything a small/medium company needs to deliver its goods in a neat way.
As described by the automaker, the Toyota U2 concept "is the size of a compact car with the functionality of a compact truck and the spaciousness of a cargo van. It satisfies other key urban driver priorities including good fuel economy, maneuverability in city environments and easy loading and unloading.”
The car starts with a modern front end, almost like a compact SUV, after which it switches to a more boxy design at the back to emphasize cargo capacity. And being designed with form and function in mind, the roof panels can retract open, the rear glass can slide into the tailgate, which itself can then fold down to form a ramp. Don’t worry about the paint, because it comes with protective, replaceable ridges.
Thought the exterior was enough to float your boat? Wait until you hop on board and discover a slightly weird combination of organic and industrial shapes combining to create a versatile, yet good-to-look-at interior, which is also highly customizable.
From the beginning, you can see that the U2 was conceived without an infotainment system, so that a simple tablet or phone could easily take its place. Pretty neat since most couriers today are using one to keep track of their deliveries.
Other interior highlights include a rail system, a foldable removable front passenger seat, fold-up rear seats, unique shifter design with intuitive switch for parking, drive and reverse mode as well as a big list of colors and materials to fit every customer and designation.
The Toyota Urban Utility will be showcased at the World Maker Faire event in New York City later this month, after which it will return back to Calty.
We can’t but give Toyota a big thumbs up for this project; the transport industry needs to be attractive too, and which courier wouldn’t feel better driving one of these funk-vans. Let’s hope the production model will retain much of this design and functionality and also come with a hybrid powertrain.
As described by the automaker, the Toyota U2 concept "is the size of a compact car with the functionality of a compact truck and the spaciousness of a cargo van. It satisfies other key urban driver priorities including good fuel economy, maneuverability in city environments and easy loading and unloading.”
The car starts with a modern front end, almost like a compact SUV, after which it switches to a more boxy design at the back to emphasize cargo capacity. And being designed with form and function in mind, the roof panels can retract open, the rear glass can slide into the tailgate, which itself can then fold down to form a ramp. Don’t worry about the paint, because it comes with protective, replaceable ridges.
Thought the exterior was enough to float your boat? Wait until you hop on board and discover a slightly weird combination of organic and industrial shapes combining to create a versatile, yet good-to-look-at interior, which is also highly customizable.
From the beginning, you can see that the U2 was conceived without an infotainment system, so that a simple tablet or phone could easily take its place. Pretty neat since most couriers today are using one to keep track of their deliveries.
Other interior highlights include a rail system, a foldable removable front passenger seat, fold-up rear seats, unique shifter design with intuitive switch for parking, drive and reverse mode as well as a big list of colors and materials to fit every customer and designation.
The Toyota Urban Utility will be showcased at the World Maker Faire event in New York City later this month, after which it will return back to Calty.
We can’t but give Toyota a big thumbs up for this project; the transport industry needs to be attractive too, and which courier wouldn’t feel better driving one of these funk-vans. Let’s hope the production model will retain much of this design and functionality and also come with a hybrid powertrain.
Google News