The lights of the Las Vegas convention center floor were ablaze as Toyota pulled the covers off a machine nobody saw coming: Scion is back and this time it’s on a four seat off-road beast designed to take a beating in the sand, rocks and stillness of the wilderness. Make way for the Scion 01, a side-by-side that takes the Tacoma heart, wraps it in super tough steel and dares you to leave the pavement behind.
As you approach the Scion, you’ll notice the aggressive, near vertical front end with a large winch bolted right in the middle and a light bar on top like a predator’s glare. The whole thing is wrapped in digital camo vinyl that runs across each panel, with only black plastic sticking out just enough to brush off any brush or boulders that get in your way. There are auxiliary lights grouped along the bumper ready to turn those dark trails into daylight. This beast sits on massive Maxxis off-road tires with 15 inch beads and aggressive tread and has a stance that’s just wide enough to keep its boots on the ground but narrow enough to thread through the trees.
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As you get in, you’re met with four bucket seats under a full roof. There’s a rear mounted spare hanging off the back, so when the inevitable flat tire happens miles from nowhere you can just grab it. The dash screens are bright, the suspension adjustments are at your fingertips and every switch is a modern Toyota truck switch: familiar, reliable and bulletproof. The driver’s seat is red with the same camo pattern as the body, so you get a subliminal reminder this thing means business.
Press a button and a 2.4L turbo four cylinder engine, the same hybrid unit from the Tacoma, comes to life with a deep rumble. Over 300 horsepower (326 in truck trim, I’d imagine this is the same) surges through a driveline designed from the very best Toyota parts. Torque is a hearty 465 pound-feet, which is enough to turn those Maxxis tires into roostertails and claw over granite shelves. Most side by side motorcycles rarely exceed 200 horsepower; Kawasaki’s most powerful models can reach 250. This 01 leaves them in the dust.
When you switch to Silent Mode, the gas engine shuts down and electric motors take over – the desert becomes quiet and you can glide past campsites or chase wildlife without making a sound – and every volt of battery range counts when you’re trying to remain covert. Flip it back, and the turbo revs right back up, ready for the next dune climb.
The suspension travel remains a mystery, but the engineers promise “excellent articulation” and a footprint small enough to handle tight eastern trails or big open Baja runs. The brakes and driveline components are all from the company catalog, and they are the same ones that have survived the Baja 1000 battering. Toyota constructed a special chassis to handle it all, and then topped it off with an FIA-approved roll cage. Flip the 01, and everyone inside is safe; desert racing officials would approve.
Calty, Toyota’s California studio , came up with the idea for this thing. That same team that’s been sketching out crazy concepts like the 86 Shooting Brake are now drafting up roll cages and rooflines for a desert truck. Meanwhile North American engineers, who probably spend most of their free time beating up trucks on Moab off-road trails, took care of putting it all together. Don Federico, Toyota’s VP of vehicle performance, describes it as “the perfect blend of high-tech performance and a love for adventure”. Which basically translates to – they’ve finally given official thumbs up to tearing up the dirt on the weekend.
This thing is a big beast, tipping the scales at around 4,000 pounds – that’s a bit of a chunk for a side-by-side, but their goal is to get that down to 3,300 in the next version. Less weight means it can go faster, higher up and farther out – and they’re aiming to blow past the segment leaders in every area.
If you’re walking around the SEMA show you’ll probably get the message pretty quickly: Toyota can make just about anything. They’ve got a RAV4 GR Sport prototype parked nearby, sporting a snazzy new body kit with lower bumpers and whatnot, and it’s giving you a glimpse of what Gazoo Racing might have in store for the road. But the real star of the show – the thing that’s really turning heads – is the Scion 01.
