Given just how many JNC owners are also obsessed with scale model cars, it seems only fitting that Toyota chose to debut their latest retro concept at the upcoming Tokyo Toy Show. The Toyota Camatte Hajime looks like an FJ55 Land Cruiser hot rod, with a 1+2 seating layout á la McLaren F1. Best of all? It’s made for kids.
The Hajime is actually the sixth Camatte design, all of which have been shown at the Tokyo Toy Show. Toyota encourages children to climb in, play with the controls and generally climb all over it like the monkeys they are. The seats and pedals can even be adjusted to kid dimensions so that children can operate them. Power comes from an electric motor, and like the Datsun Baby that Nissan recently restored, it’s probably not fast enough for leadfoot rugrats to truly endanger themselves.
Every body panel on the Camatte is interchangeable, resulting in past projects like the Camatte 57s speedster and the Nissan Figaro-esque Camatte Sora. Hajime means “beginning” in Japanese, and Toyota says the name indicates there’s much more to come from the Camatte concept.
The Hajime is my favorite of the six Camatte concepts that have been built to date, simply because FJ55s are cool as hell and a hot rod version fitted with black steelies, a roll bar and over-fenders is something that I, as a grown man, would totally drive. However, if you think those touches are a bit to subtle for kids, Toyota’s also released renderings of brightly colored trucks and emergency vehicles that children are sure to spaz out over. What sugar-addled six-year-old wouldn’t go absolutely berserk over a purple fire truck?
If you want to take cynical look at the project, you could say one of the world largest automakers is playing the long con, indoctrinating kids into the cult of the automobile so that they’ll have generations of customers to come. Diabolical! And you know what? I’m totally okay with it. The Tokyo Toy Show begins June 20.
Park that in my driveway tonight !!!!!!!
It also looks a bit like a Rasheen that’s been through one of those reality shows.
Cool !
I would buy this for my girls… Then hijack it to use as my yard/farm work vehicle.
So the Camatte was a “Concept” made by Toyota and debuted at the 2012 Tokyo Toy Show… So my question is if this means they are getting serious about production for these things (looks like it).
What do we think these will actually cost? And will they ever be available outside of Japan?
I think Toyota should invest in purpose-built tracks for these (like a wonderland for kids, like what Nissan did). They should have these all over the world, especially Australia. Preferably Queensland, Gold Coast. It could even be an attraction at one of the theme parks.
It really resembles an Isuzu Unicab if you ask me.
Howzabout upsize the Jeep-y version to Wrangler size, get it “approved” by our overlords and market it the same way?
Jeep capability and Toyota reliability!
As far as “indoctrinating kids into the cult of the automobile,” it’s a whole lot better than a lot of other things they get thrown at them 24/7.