Photo from Toyota Automobile Museum
The Philippine-made Toyota Tamaraw was on display at the Toyota Automobile Museum in Nagoya, Japan for a special exhibit on special mobility solutions.
The exhibit, entitled "Transporters Continuing to Support Japan's Mobility," running from April 28 to July 17, 2023, highlighted utility vehicles that supported the development of industry in Japan and Asia from the post-war period.
The exhibit is at the second floor Special Exhibition Room of the Culture Hall of the Toyota Automobile Museum. The museum is located at 41-100 Yokomichi, Nagakute City, Aichi Prefecture 480-1118, Nagoya City in Japan. You can view details of the exhibit here.
The exhibit describes these cars as the forerunners of modern last-mile logistic transport, serving as solutions to goods transportation before the private car boom and the further development of dedicated logistics vehicles.
Photo from Toyota Automobile Museum
To allow museum-goers to truly appreciate the ingenuity of the Tamaraw, the museum encouraged visitors to enter the vehicle and sit in the front or the back to experience what it was like to be a passenger in one of these vehicles.
The Toyota Tamaraw (1977, codenamed KF10) was conceived with the aim of developing motorization in Asia and Africa. The multipurpose vehicle was used as a jeepney, a microbus, as well as a capable light truck. The vehicle was named after the Tamaraw water buffalo indigenous to the Philippines and often favored by Filipino farmers to haul produce carts and help till the fields.
Back in 1977, the Tamaraw was classified as a dropside pickup, owing to the flatbed it was sometimes offered with. It went against the likes of the Ford Fiera and Mitsubishi Cimarron, which had similar designs. The Tamaraw and its competitors were the vehicles that influenced the creation of the Asian Utility Vehicle (AUV) segment unique to Southeast Asia. These are pickup-based passenger vehicles (PPV) that used a light truck or pickup chassis and powertrain. It either used the existing pickup cab or featured a uniquely created one altogether. Then, it had a multipurpose passenger or utility provision added behind. Early examples of the Asian Utility Vehicle are the Toyota Tamaraw FX (1990), and Revo (1997). It also inspired the design of its fiercest competitors, the Mitsubishi Adventure / Fuzion and Isuzu Highlander / Crosswind.
Photo from Toyota Automobile Museum
This segment eventually evolved to become the MPV segment we know today, populated by the likes of the Toyota Innova, Avanza, Veloz, and now the new Zenix.
Recently, Toyota had expressed interest to rebuild the iconic Tamaraw, this time with more eco-friendly powertrains like electric or hybrid.