Toyota Design Chief Sees Rolling Boxes and Custom Speedsters in the Future

Boxes-on-wheels and souped-up sports cars are on the mind of Toyota Design Chef Simon Humphries.

The future as a concept has led techies, inventors, car enthusiasts, writers, and artists to dream up some of the most awe-inspiring vehicles. Cars in Tomorrowland as a whole have been the thing of a fantasy-nightmare hybrid since four wheels and an engine began kicking up dirt.

From flying cars in the grimey pollution-ravaged world of Blade Runner to veritable death machines in Mad Max, the future hasn't always looked bright for the automobile.

But as reported by Fortune, Toyota Design Chief Simon Humphries sees the future as a sleek personalized world void of auto anarchy.

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A big focus for automakers in recent years when it comes to tech-centric car design has been safety. But with IoT developing at a rapid pace and taking over the focus of car design, crafting cars that mirror the future needs of drivers has taken over.

What Humphries envisions traveling along the roads of tomorrow are self-driving boxes-on-wheels and fancy-beyond-imagination sports cars.

Toyota

The 50 year-old Brit, who spent time at Sony before coming aboard Toyota, split his concepts into two categories: one vehicle is for the day-to-day like transporting people or pizza, with the second vehicle being more for the weekend, a roaming dream-mobile that plays to drivers' fantasies.

Keeping the Wheels Spinning

"Design has a responsibility to go beyond just styling, and present a viable story for the future," said the Toyota Design Chief. When talking about the future of transportation, Humphries described a land of vehicular dreams come to life where people can have their daily transport, much like Toyota's ultimate family car, the Camry, and a sportier car that opens the door to possibilities.

"A lot of the people who really like cars are worried about the future, but I see it the other way round," he added. "We have to start thinking about [the future] now...When you don't have to hold a steering wheel, the world is your oyster. You can change."

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