Yahoo Autos Toyota Tacoma's potential next-generation revealed in patent renderings
Renderings of what is likely the next-generation Toyota Tacoma have been unearthed from a patent application. The images come from a filing with Brazil's intellectual property agency, and look remarkably similar to a proposed electric pickup concept shown in 2019.
The images were discovered by Motor1, and show a pickup very similar to a truck previewed in Toyota's mega-EV announcement in December 2021, in which it promised 30 new EV launches by 2030. That truck had a blanked-out grille representative of a battery-electric rig, while the rendering in the patent filing shows a traditional grille in its place. According to some rumors, the 2024 Tacoma will have an EV variant, while other reports indicate a turbo 2.4-liter inline-4 and 2.4-liter mated to a hybrid system.
The styling takes several cues from the new Tundra. Fortunately, it's not quite as over-styled, and largely keeps true to the Tacoma formula that's made the third-gen a best-seller despite a long eight years on the market. The teardrop vents below the headlights, character lines kicking up from just aft of the front wheels, and stylized wheel arches are copy-pasted straight from the 2021 EV concept.
