Toyota Shows Its Dark Side With Surprising RAV4 Concept, It Will Debut in January

4 days, 19 hours ago - 29 December 2024, autoevolution

Toyota is getting ready for the Tokyo Auto Salon. While doing the countdown, the automaker is preparing its RAV4 Dark Side Performance concept car. A teaser video shows what seems to be a crossover focused on street performance rather than off-roading.

The Japanese auto giant is trying to erase the sales decline of this year and to attract younger customers. That is why it is preparing to roll out more interesting features for its already existing models.

To revive the fifth generation of the RAV4, which has already been on the market for the past six years, Toyota is working on a Dark Side version. The automaker does not disclose much about the upcoming concept car, but calling it "The Dark Side Performance" is quite relevant.

The two-minute teaser shows a futuristic crossover residing in a utopian Dark Side Neo City, bringing the world of anime and games together. Painted black, sporting widened wheel arches and restyled bumpers, the model features contrasting petrol green accents and LED lights, while riding on black-finished wheels with center caps that display the "RAV4" designation.

Could it be the first-ever electric Toyota RAV4?
What seems to be a closed-off grille shows innovative graphics that are probably not even street-legal. That grille might be a hint that we will be dealing with an electric RAV4, which would be the first in the lineup. The only BEV that Toyota currently has in its portfolio is the bZ4X crossover. The carmaker is not too keen on coming up with other zero-tailpipe-emission models despite being the first to roll out a mass-production hybrid when it launched the Prius back in 1997.

The same continues on board, with a petrol green light strip stretching along the dashboard from pillar to pillar. The video shows the RAV4 Dark Side driving at high speed along roads from a sci-fi reality, which should indicate a power upgrade. Meanwhile, drones are trying to keep up with it in the unconventional setting.

Toyota does have off-road-focused versions and even a GR Sport version in the RAV4 lineup, but there is no performance-focused crossover. So, the video confirms that is what Toyota is working on.

Toyota will also showcase the Outdoor Lifestyle Package for the same model. Details are scarce, but the package should bring fender flares, a roof rack, and most likely, all-terrain tires for the outdoor experience that it is advertising for.

The Japanese auto giant will unveil both the RAV4 Dark Side Performance and the Outdoor Lifestyle Package at the Tokyo Auto Salon. The event kicks off on January 10 at the Makuhari Messe Convention Center in the Japanese capital. Toyota has yet to confirm if the concept car will spawn a production version.