Toyota Concept Vehicles of the 1970s: Supercars, Motor Homes and Gas Turbines

Toyota used the Tokyo Motor Show of the 1970s as a testing ground for ideas that ran from a mid-engined supercar to a motor home and a gas turbine hybrid. Some concepts, such as the SV-1, became production cars, while others, including the RV-1 and RV-2, stayed on the show stand. Together they show a company exploring safety, efficiency and recreation.

What was the EX-7 supercar?

The EX-7 was a two-seat concept shown at the 1970 Tokyo Motor Show. Its name came from an experiment: the EX stood for experiment, and the -7 referred to the Toyota 7 racing car it was meant to echo. It aimed to show what a supercar based on that racer might look like on the road.

Under the skin, the EX-7 borrowed heavily from the racer. Its mid-mounted 5 L (310 cu in) engine resembled the Toyota 7 unit, but without turbochargers. The racer produced 800 bhp (597 kW; 811 PS), while the road-going EX-7 was detuned to 450 PS (331 kW; 444 hp). A manual gearbox formed part of a transaxle, and double wishbones with vented disc brakes were fitted at all four corners.

The bodywork followed the styling of other supercars of the era, such as the Mercedes C111. It had a long, flat nose blending into a long windscreen, and a high tail with a vertical cutoff. The doors were gull-wing style, but their hinges sat at the rear of the roof section, so each door swung towards the back of the car.

From a supercar to a camping wagon, Toyota's 1970s concepts tested ideas that were often too early for the showroom.

What did the Electronics Car show?

The Electronics Car was a modified Corona displayed at the 1970 Tokyo Motor Show. Based on the Corona Hardtop 1700SL, it was a cutaway model that exposed the systems inside. The display showed electronic fuel injection, electric skid control, an electronic automatic transmission, air bags, a monitor display and cruise control.

The car never went into production as a whole. Many of its components, however, did reach production in various Toyota models later on, which made it an early preview of electronics that would spread through the range.

How did the SV-1 become the Celica liftback?

The SV-1 was shown at the Tokyo Motor Show in October and November 1971, and it was the prototype for the Celica liftback released in April 1973. The prototype started life in May 1971 as a TA22 GT coupe with frame number TA22-026004. Its mechanicals stayed the same, including the 1600cc 2T-G twincam engine.

Inside, the front was largely borrowed from the TA22 GT, with only a different seat fabric pattern. Electric window lifts were fitted, an option that was rare on the GT, but the GT's optional air conditioning was absent. The rear seats reclined on the same hinges and latches as the front seats, with the rear latches placed in the middle. A padded vinyl console sat between them.

Outside, the SV-1 had a rear fuel filler like early coupes, a slightly larger hatch glass than production cars, and dual exhaust tips where production Celicas had one. The hatch lock sat on the beaver panel instead of the hatch itself. The grille was an ST type, as used on all production liftbacks from 1973 to 1975, including the GT models.

The fuel filler shows how production caught up with the prototype. Toyota moved all Celicas to side fuel fillers in mid 1972, so from the RA28 onwards, production liftbacks had a cover flap on the left rear quarter panel. The RA25 and TA27 were the first production liftbacks, and their fillers sat in the centre rear behind a pulled-down panel.

What was the Marinetta trailer?

The Marinetta was a concept trailer shown at the 1971 Tokyo Motor Show behind the RV-1. Its bottom half was a single-axle fibreglass trailer, and its top half was a small boat mounted upside down. When the halves were joined for towing, the boat's outboard motor could be disconnected and stowed in the lower half.

On the stand, the trailer was shown with an inflatable tent and a second tent packed inside, and a jet ski with its own trailer sat beside it. The exterior was painted white with a black stripe, while the interior was a bright orange.

A 1973 version, the Marinetta 10, appeared at that year's show in a beach setting behind a Corona hardtop. Its lower half was reworked like a pop-up caravan, with beds folding out to each side and a fabric canopy raised on a fold-out frame. Weighing 300 kg (661 lb), it used hydraulic brakes powered by the trailer's own inertia when the tow car slowed.

What was the RV-1 recreational vehicle?

The RV-1 was a two-door wagon concept based on the Celica, shown at the 1971 Tokyo Motor Show. Its front had vertical corners rather than the Celica's sloping park lights, and its grille used large round holes instead of slats. The roof ran back to a thin spine, with centre-hinged gull-wing windows on each side, so it read as a very different car from the coupe.

The rear was equally distinctive. A large roll bar finished the back, the tail lights showed through small round holes, and the bumper had cut-outs for reflectors and reversing lights. A 1 metre wide tailgate with a frameless wind-down window occupied the centre, and the middle section of the bumper moved with the tailgate.

The RV-1 was designed as part of a recreational system. It came with the Marinetta trailer, which included a fibreglass dinghy, a five-person inflatable tent and a jet ski on its own trailer. The car never reached production, although the SV-1 shown alongside it did.

What did the RV-2 offer campers?

Shown at the October 1972 Tokyo Motor Show and at the April 1973 New York International Auto Show, the RV-2 had a wagon body with two doors. Its styling was sharp, with crisply formed edges and large rectangular headlights. The front bumper covered only the corners, which let the grille stand out.

The real feature was the rear. A pair of side-hinged clamshell doors covered the rear section and met in the middle of the roof with no centre support. When raised, they allowed a tent to be stretched between them. Two adults could sleep in the tent, while two more could sleep on the front seats, which folded flat.

The rear also had a full-width tailgate with a wind-down window tucked under an integrated roll bar. The RV-2 was larger than the RV-1. Accounts differ on whether it was based on the Mark II or the Crown, but both cars shared the 4M engine, transmission and suspension, so either account can be true.

The 2600 cc 4M engine was uprated with SU carburettors to give 190 km/h. Penthouse magazine reviewed a right-hand-drive prototype in its August 1973 issue, after the car had been displayed in Tokyo.

Toyota also printed a large number of brochures for the US market to gauge the reaction. The response was generally favourable, but not enough to put the car into production. The brochure sketches showed the steering wheel on the left, while the photographs of the real vehicle hid the wheel, which was on the right.

Which motor homes and vans appeared in 1972?

The 1972 show also featured two vehicles built on a small bus. The MH20 was a motor home concept introduced at the 19th Tokyo Motor Show, and the MP20 was a multi-purpose vehicle on the same small-bus base. Both show how Toyota explored the bus as a flexible starting point for different uses.

What were the ESV safety concepts?

The Experimental Safety Vehicle, or ESV, was a Japanese government programme. Toyota's two-seat ESV concepts were built to its specifications, which required the car to weigh less than 1,150 kg (2,535 lb) while protecting occupants in a collision with a 1,814 kg (4,000 lb) vehicle travelling at 80 km/h (50 mph).

Meeting those rules pushed Toyota towards a two-seater. Adequate crumple zones were needed while staying inside the size limits, so the car ended up with only two seats. The ESV shown at the 1972 Tokyo Motor Show was the second example built, and it used unique alloy wheels.

The 1973 ESV was the 100th and final vehicle Toyota produced under the programme. It was similar to the ESV-2 but had larger plastic bumpers and minor trim changes. Its safety kit included four-wheel anti-skid brakes, four-beam headlights, air bags, a silicone rubber front bumper on internal shock absorbers and crumple zones, with double wishbone front suspension.

What was the Town Spider System?

The Town Spider System was a 1973 concept shown at the Tokyo Motor Show as part of Toyota's MAC project, short for Multi-functional Automobile Communication. It was designed to give the driver information on traffic and weather, and it could warn of road detours and accidents. It also included a telephone, which was then an item for the wealthy.

Why does the F101 matter to Celica history?

The F101 was a wagon-type sedan concept introduced in 1973. It drew attention with its gull-wing doors and was promoted as a sedan of the future. Its 97 horsepower came from a 2-liter engine like the one in the 1974 Corona, and its prototype used four-wheel discs and fully independent suspension.

It preceded the second generation Celica. By then the first-generation Celica had been produced for two years and had sold well. The body was tested in a wind tunnel for efficiency, and its outline mixed straight lines with roundness in a way that suited the trends of later years.

The model name changed twice. It was later called the F110 in 1977 and the F120 in 1981, which shows how the idea carried on through the decade.

What were the EV2 and CX-80 city concepts?

Two concepts pointed towards smaller cars. The EV2, created in 1973 and introduced at that year's Tokyo show, was a small electric vehicle. The CX-80, also known as the FCX-80, followed at the October 1979 show as an experimental city car designed to save fuel by being light and compact.

The CX-80 used front-wheel drive, which left the cabin floor flat and the interior spacious. Its bonnet sloped sharply, with a pod in the middle housing the headlights. The side windows sat high on the waistline, a layout offset by transparent cut-outs in the body's side panels.

How did the Century gas turbine hybrid work?

The Century Gas Turbine Hybrid, shown at the 1975 Tokyo Motor Show, fitted a GT45 gas turbine into a Toyota Century, one of the few Toyota models whose engine bay could take it. The turbine drove a generator that charged 20 batteries of 12 V each. Two electric motors then drove the front wheels, one for each side.

Running on kerosene, it managed 160 km/h (99 mph). On battery power alone it reached 120 km/h (75 mph). Toyota had first trialled the Century in this way in 1971 but did not show it to the public until 1975, and a similar system was tried on some Toyota buses from 1971 as well.

Later gas turbine variants followed. A version of the engine appeared as the GT24 at the 1977 Tokyo Motor Show, the Sports 800 Gas Turbine Hybrid at the 1979 show, and as Gas Turbine II in the Toyota GTV at the 1985 show.

What was the Sports 800 Gas Turbine Hybrid?

The Sports 800 Gas Turbine Hybrid was based on the Toyota Sports 800 and first appeared at the 1979 Tokyo Motor Show. A 30 bhp (22 kW) gas turbine drove a generator, which fed an electric motor linked to a two-speed gearbox. It was a compact demonstration of the turbine-and-motor idea seen in the Century.

The car returned to the nostalgia section of the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show with small changes. The red roof had become black, the black mirrors were now red, a large bonnet scoop had been added, and the steel wheels had been replaced with alloys. The placard beside it said the car was first shown at the 1977 show rather than 1979, and the reason for the error was not explained.

What were the CAL-1 and the aluminium car?

The CAL-1 was shown at the 1977 Tokyo Motor Show and at the 1978 Chicago Auto Show. It was based on the prototype Supra, and Calty, Toyota's California design studio, also handled the Supra and the new-generation Celica. Although it was designed in California, the CAL-1 was right-hand drive and had Japanese-style front mirrors.

Its rear deck opened into a pair of rear seats, and the rear window folded into a wind deflector for rear passengers. More of the rear deck could be removed to turn the car into a pickup.

The Experimental Aluminum Car of 1977 used aluminium for its entire body. The lighter material cut weight and improved efficiency, and the car was powered by a 547cc engine while weighing only 450 kg.

Which concepts were built for trucks and families?

Several concepts targeted practical users. The MP-1, first shown at the 1975 Tokyo Motor Show, was a multi-purpose wagon built on the Crown passenger car chassis rather than a commercial one. The Family Wagon, shown in October 1979, was based on the Liteace and had three rows of seats.

The MP-1 had a sharply sloped bonnet, sliding rear side doors on rails, a top-hinged rear door and a lifting step to help wheelchair users. Inside, the front passenger seat could turn 360 degrees, the rear bench could tip 90 degrees, and it had a sunroof and a refrigerator. Toyota had planned front-wheel drive, but time pressures forced it to reuse the six-cylinder engine and rear-wheel-drive layout from the Crown. Tomica made a limited edition scale model.

In the Family Wagon, the two second-row seats could swivel 180 degrees or fold flat to form a continuous surface with a third-row seat. A small table sat between the rightmost seats, and a rear-facing television was mounted in the roof behind the front row.

The Marine Cruiser truck, seen at the 1973 show, had water-resistant seats, two radios, protective headlights, a heavy winch, an aluminum safety cage and a wood-trimmed interior like a fishing boat. Under the hood was a four-cylinder diesel B-series engine. The Hilux RM-4D was a 1979 concept version of the Hilux made only for that show and never planned for production.

What were the key figures for the 1970s concepts?