UPDATE: It turns out that Toyota’s new RND concept set to be unveiled next week isn’t actually a new car but rather a red nose cap to be fitted on your car to mark Red Nose Day, a charity event run overseas where people attach red noses to their face—or car—and help raise funds for the less fortunate. After checking with their sources, Autovisie discovered that the release put out by Toyota was a joke made by the automaker’s U.K. division. Red Nose Day this year takes place March 13.
Toyota has released a teaser image of a new concept called the RND that it says previews an upcoming production model. The RND will be revealed at an exclusive event in the U.K. on January 26 and is said to be virtually identical to the production version it previews, despite being a concept.
Toyota explains that everything necessary for production of a car based on the RND has been secured and that even a price tag has been determined. We’re not talking a high-end model here, as Toyota says the pricing has been set so as to ensure the car is accessible to the "widest possible market."
The RND’s design is said to mark a “radical shift” in direction for Toyota, and the car itself is said to take the “fun-to-drive” aspect of current Toyota cars to a higher level—though this shouldn’t be too hard considering the relatively low starting point.
Interestingly, Toyota says the RND’s impact will go far beyond the automaker’s own model range, having the potential to transform the look of every vehicle on the road. It’s hard to gauge what Toyota is getting at but perhaps we’re looking at a new form of personal mobility, something like the T25 project from Gordon Murray Design.
In a statement, Toyota’s U.K. chief Matt Harrison said, “Full details of the RND concept will be announced next week, but ahead of the official unveiling I can say that this is something we are proud of and that will make a valuable contribution to the world we live in.”
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