Toyota’s RV-2 Is Still Tomorrow’s Recreational Vehicle
The history of the automotive world is littered with missed chances, miscalculations, and subsequent regret. But I can think of no bigger miss than Toyota’s failure to pull the trigger on the RV-2 station wagon/camper concept.
Sure, the RV-2 debuted at the 1972 Tokyo Auto Show, just before gas-guzzling station wagons would become road-worn pariahs, but what do the times have to do with beauty? In the face of such glorious design, market trends need to be ignored. Alas, Toyota allowed business to come before pleasure, and the RV-2 never materialized.
What makes this old-school concept so stunning is the way it combines all the best characteristics of an El Camino and a Delorean (which wouldn’t even be released for another nine years). And then miraculously, as though out of a futuristic movie set in a far-off year like 2001, Toyota throws in a bit of the venerable Volkswagen pop top camper too. The RV-2 puffs up like a blowfish and turns into a roaming four-person bedroom, perfect for a swinging good time.
Believe me, I’m not the first person to think this concept would have made the perfect roaming swinger-mobile. Penthouse covered the RV-2 back in the day, with a NSFW spread featuring a VERY happy couple canoodling on the interior shag carpet. They even claimed that the concept’s enthusiastic reception meant a production vehicle would soon hit the market. Unfortunately, that never came to be, and all we’re left with is the pain of regret.
But really, Toyota, it’s not too late to right this wrong. Aren’t wagons and swinging hot again?
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via [Fast Company]
