2015 도쿄 모터쇼에 등장할 토요타 컨셉카 중 가장 개성적인 모델입니다. 이름은 기카이 컨셉(Toyota KIKAI)인데 눈치 빠르신 분들은 아셨겠지만 한자어 '기계'의 일본식 발음에서 이름을 지었습니다. 기계와 사람의 조화를 테마로 삼았다고 하네요. 엔진과 서스펜션 등 기계적인 부품을 숨기지 않고 그대로 노출한 것이 특징입니다. 이것도 양산으로 이어질 가능성은 제로에 가깝지만 새로운 시도라 반갑네요
Toyota KIKAI(world premiere)
As the products of human creativity, dedication, and knowledge, machines should be objects of admiration. The concept was designed to explore and emphasize the fundamental appeal of machines: their fine craftsmanship, their beauty, simplicity, and their fascinating motion. As a true concept car, the Toyota KIKAI's appeal is simultaneously free from and reliant on the core concepts of automobiles.
Innovative form
This concept takes the machinery, normally hidden beneath the vehicle body, and makes an open display of its beauty. Directly expressed in this way, the vehicle's inner workings become part of the exterior. In addition to the carefully designed form, continued into details including the fuel tank, reserve tank, and exhaust pipes, the analog-style meters and switches offer an engaging dialog with the machinery.
New driving sensation
The small window at the driver's feet is another distinctive aspect of this car's structure, communicating the movements of the tires and suspension and the rush of speed along the road surface. Through the windshield, the movements of the upper control arm are also visible. This provides a novel driving sensation in which the machinery that supports the operations of cruising, turning, and stopping in ordinary everyday driving can be directly perceived with the senses.
Stimulating layout
The adoption of a central driver seat, which places the driver at the heart of the car, gives a more instinctive sensory connection with the vehicle. The optimal spacing between the three passenger seats achieved by their triangular layout creates a congenial in-cabin communication space. The expansive side window that reaches up to the roof delivers full enjoyment in urban and natural landscapes alike.
While most vehicles conceal their inner workings beneath smooth sheet metal, this concept encourages us to appreciate the complex beauty of the mechanical aspects of cars. More broadly, it reminds us of the appeal of the physical and tactile in a digital age.
