[VIDEO] Is the Crown Outdoor Concept Headed for Production?

The new Crown Outdoor Concept made waves at the 2023 Tokyo Auto Salon, might this be a new package for the crossover?

Toyota’s been on a massive comeback streak lately, debuting some incredible machines for the past decade. Vehicles like the Supra, GR Corolla, Lexus LC, and so on. But on the other end, they’ve also produced the Crown, a car that met to mixed reception. Road & Track, for example, stated that it delivers a “floaty, pleasant ride with no sporting intentions.” Looks-wise, the crowd’s been mostly divided. Some see it as a bloated sedan, and others praise it as a svelte, handsome crossover. But whomever you ask, the bottom line is that you’re getting what it says on the tin. A four-door crossover on a FWD platform, primarily tailored for daily commutes and family trips. In a similar vein to the RAV4, someone at Toyota saw potential in this mundane (but undeniably appealing) car. Enter: the Crown Outdoor Concept.

Currently, the Outdoor Concept outfits a JDM Crown rather than the North American variant. Although there’s undoubtedly tons of potential for such an equipment package to gain traction. Let alone if we get something similar for the anticipated Crown Signia, the estate variant sharing the GA-K platform. Toyotas rightly bear a reputation for outstanding off-road performance in the US dating back to the Land Cruiser. And the Crown may be an unlikely, but not wholly unprecedented, continuation of that tradition. Will it outdo more purpose-built off-roaders, of course not. But something like this, either as we see here in the standard model or hypothetically on the Signia? Perfect for light-duty work like setting up a campground, heading to a nice fishing spot, or trekking down unpaved trails. Let’s take a closer look in this video by AutomotivePress and see what Toyota’s got in store for us!

Getting Your Hands Dirty

The Toyota Crown dates back to 1955 with the introduction of the RS. And since then, the model received exactly zero off-road-specific packages from Toyota. The closest such package came in the 1960s, when you could buy a Crown Ute in Australia. However, the car was always considered a “personal luxury car,” a title it still bears today. So it’s way out of left field for such a car to receive even a cosmetic off-road package, much less what we saw at Tokyo.

The Crown Outdoor Concept, as it’s known, features a number of specialized overland modifications. We’ll start with the most obvious, the wheels. They’re bespoke to this concept, being smaller in diameter than the standard 21” wheels, which would be near-useless off-road. And they’re wrapped in BFGoodrich KO-2s, not a bad tire, either. Above, we have aggressive wheel arch covers, echoing the style we saw last year in the RAV4 Woodland Edition. No real word on suspension other than it’s heavier-duty than standard. Other functional bits include roof and hood-mounted lightbars, an overland roof rack, mud flaps, and additional fog lights. Plus small cosmetic enhancements like blacked-out door handles that lend a more aggressive look.

Realizing the Outdoor Concept

Toyota’s been tight-lipped about the car, which debuted alongside a similar package for the new Lexus RX. However, Japanese source Impress reported that chief engineer Ryutaro Shimizu has “shown an interest in selling cars like the Crown Outdoor Concept.” It’s far from any sort of concrete answer, but it’s certainly on Toyota’s agenda. As mentioned before, the Signia variant may likely wear an overland package well, which is something we’d love to see in the future. As-is, though, the Crown wearing the aggressive styling is an interesting clash between luxury car and SUV that we’ve not really seen in general. Such styling sentiments call to mind cars like the AMC Eagle, with a pedestrian-style body sitting on a beefy undercarriage. It’s certainly not for everyone, but there’s a lot of potential in evolving this design as its own niche. Not to mention the spectacle when a seasoned off-roader inevitably drives a Crown sedan up Moab. We fully endorse this package just for that sight alone.

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M.C. Cuccio

I've been an automotive aficionado since I had baby teeth. My path was set when I first leaned on my grandfather's classic Porsche as I learned how to walk. One of my first memories was my mother sitting me behind the wheel of her Pontiac and talking me through the instrumentation and controls. Even though I was a mere three or four years old, I was instantly sold, and filled notebooks with technical drawings, sketches, and collections of manuals of all sorts of cars. I've actively tracked developments in automotive and motorsport technology for well over 20 years, and pride myself on being intimately familiar with the functions and history of a wide range of vehicles.

My primary goal as a writer and enthusiast is to equally learn and share what I've learned in a constructive and interesting way. I maintain connections with people from around the world and can read technical manuals in Italian, Japanese, and Spanish, granting me access to a wide array of resources. My primary focuses are deep-dives into historical topics, motorsport discussion, and learning about the complex mechanical elements of such vehicles. As such, my research is never perfect; as anyone into cars will attest, the more you learn about cars, the more you realize how little you actually know. Therefore, I always welcome fresh knowledge and corrections to help me better my work in the future.