Has everyone seen what the Japanese automaker Toyota is doing in America? They're basically overtaking the mid-size class with the determination of a barbarian conqueror.
It all started with the introduction of the family-oriented, three-row 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander and of its Lexus TX sibling – both made at TMMI in Princeton, Indiana. But that was just the appetizer as Toyota then followed suit with the all-new N400 version of the Toyota Tacoma best-selling pickup truck, the reborn 2024 Land Cruiser off-road legend and its Lexus GX 550 sibling, as well as the 2025 Camry mid-size sedan, the Crown Signia high-end crossover SUV, and the all-mighty 4Runner off-road SUV.
But that's not all because – at long last – the rumor mill has found out that Toyota finally intends to build the hot SUV everyone has been waiting for so long. The GR-branded fully-fledged SUV might land anytime soon, but it's still too early to know if the company will use the Highlander, Grand Highlander, Land Cruiser, Crown Signia, or 4Runner as the base of operations. No worries, the imaginative realm of digital car content creators is always ready with crazy propositions.
For example, this virtual artist, better known as Theottle on social media, has recently resorted to CGI slicing and dicing the Toyota Crown Sport crossover SUV into a fully-fledged GR model. His way of thinking is simple, by the way. So, the sixteenth generation of the Crown series has returned to North America after a long absence, and the company already has two models – the Crown cross-sedan and the Crown Signia crossover SUV up for grabs. So, why not a third?
As such, "How about a Toyota GR Crown Sport as a cheap alternative to the Ferrari Purosangue?" This model is available at home in Japan as an alternative to the Crown Signia and basically feels like Toyota's interpretation of the Ferrari Purosangue – which many say looks like a hot hatchback on stilts. The pixel master used the GR Yaris DNA to emphasize better that this GR Crown Sport is nothing else but a blown-out-of-proportions hot hatchback – but that's only in terms of styling.
For the powertrain, this new and completely hypothetical (so take it with a grain of salt) flagship GR model would need something else entirely – perhaps a Gazoo Racing take on the regular model's plug-in hybrid powertrain as Toyota GR's first foray into electrification? So, what do you think? Could Toyota bring out its first hot SUV as a version of the Crown crossover SUV to make the transition from hot hatches and sports cars easier? Or do we not care about that, and all we really want to see is a GR Land Cruiser or GR 4Runner take on the Ford Bronco Raptor?
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
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News