Toyota’s FT-4X Concept Explores New Ideas In Eccentric Package

Toyota is taking to the New York Auto Show with one of its most intriguing vehicles in recent memory, the FT-4X Concept.

Although the vehicle won’t reach the production line and has been created simply to explore new ideas, it is fully functional and aims to attract the interest of millennials.

Underpinning the FT-4X is the carmaker’s TNGA platform, already in use with the 2018 Camry and CH-R crossover. The FT-4X is also very similar in size to the CH-R, measuring 167.3 inches longer, 71.7 inches wide and stands at 63.9 inches tall. As there is no intent on building the FT-4X, Toyota simply says that it could employ a compact four-cylinder engine coupled with a continuously variable transmission but has installed the concept with all-wheel drive and a low-range transfer case.

The concept came to life at Toyota’s Calty design facility in California and has rather retro and boxy styling. Toyota itself mentions that it has “a charming ubiquitous tactility of grips, handles, and controls,” and perhaps of most interest, incorporates a so-called ‘Multi Hatch’. In Outdoor mode, the hatch opens vertically and in Urban mode, the hatch splits in two vertical half-doors.

Other customizable design elements include a removable “picture window” incorporated into the C-pillar which can be replaced by a tinted glass panel. The FT-4X even includes a GoPro integrated into the driver’s side mirror.

The cabin meanwhile includes a sleeping bag that stows between the front seats and acts as an arm rest, a host of color-coded storage bins and a removable radio that can double as a boom box.