This One-Off Toyota Crown Convertible Is Oddly Compelling

As buttoned-up as Toyota may seem, the automaker has no issue being a little weird now and then. Its latest oddity relies on a design trend that many had hoped died with the Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet but continues to exist in the form of the Volkswagen T-Roc Cabrio. Toyota decided to run with it, turning its Crown crossover into a high-riding, four-door convertible.

The black-and-bronze Crown isn’t the first crossover to lose its roof, but it is rare to see such a body style with four doors. Toyota designers had several hurdles to overcome in building the one-off convertible, relying on a 3D printer to produce many new components, which flow seamlessly into the rest of the bodywork.

The new rear deck elegantly connects the stylish exterior with the white cabin. The four-door layout keeps the drop-top Crown from looking too stubby, preserving the stylish proportions unlike other convertible crossovers. 

The build required the engineers to weld new parts by hand, and the additional reinforcements made it challenging to assemble. The finished product looks like it rolled off the assembly line alongside the rest of the Crown lineup.

Toyota has built convertible versions of the Crown in the past, offering the cars for parades and other events, and the company is already churning out variants of the latest model. It’s already available as a sedan, a wagon, and a conventional crossover, and the automaker is interested in bolstering the lineup with more body styles depending on reception.

So, there’s a chance the Crown convertible might leap from being a one-off concept car to entering mass production. However, the Murano only lasted a few model years, and the Land Range Rover Evoque Convertible was just a blip, so the cards aren't stacked in Toyota's favor. But the concept is a good first shot we wouldn’t mind seeing on US roads.

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