Toyota will reveal the FT-4X concept at the New York Auto Show and with less than a month to go, here is a teaser. Though it is just a wheel-shot, it does tell us a lot about the car. Or does it?
The wheel looks fairly realistic for a concept. This means that Toyota might actually bring in a car which is closer to production than an out-of-the-world concept. And then the name FT-4X also comes into play. It might be an outright all-terrain vehicle like the first Land Cruiser – the FJ 40. Over the years, the FJ 40 grew larger and softer to the point that it has become more of a fancy road car.
If it does hark back to the FJ-40 ethos, we can expect a short chassis, a decked-up Utility Vehicle standing tall above the ground. The hub caps on the alloys look like the yesteryear four-wheel drive hub caps and the chunky tread on the 255 profile 18-inch Goodyear tyres looks promising.
On the other hand, it might be a futuristic rendering of the new FJ Cruiser which is more of a soft roader, but it sells like hot cakes across America, Toyota’s largest car market. There is a higher chance of this happening as we all know how account books affect car design.
The mystery of what the FT-4X would be like will be unravelled closer to the New York Auto Show next month. But if it turns out to be a FJ 40 scion, Ford will certainly be cursing itself for delaying the new Bronco for ever.
