The Toyota Ultimate Utility Vehicle, or “UUV,” is a unique combination of different Toyota vehicles that combine to make the ultimate go anywhere mobile office. The first question people ask when they see this incredible machine is; “When can I buy one!?”. Sorry to say, but the answer is never. This custom one-off adventuremobile was specifically designed for the Ever-Better Expedition, and will go on tour with the expedition after the 2015 SEMA Show, where it will be featured in its final configuration. The design idea behind the vehicle was to create a unique mobile office where Toyota Ever-Better team members could teleconference and do work while on the expedition.
The basis for the UUV is a stretched Tacoma frame, with a Sienna body that is powered by a Tundra V8, which has been upgraded with a TRD supercharger. A custom suspension with long arms in the rear and fully boxed front lower control arms in the front provide a huge range of travel and a 4″ lift all the way around. HUGE Wilwood brakes squeeze into the 22″ wheels and help stop the 37″ mud terrain tires. Bottom line is that this is a very capable vehicle, with tons of interior room and enough power to get it where ever it wishes to go. 
The aggressive look of the exterior is capped off with full custom bumpers, fenders and side steps, which all tie the look of the vehicle together nicely. The front bumper houses a winch, for added capability. A matte black PPG paint job finishes off the aggressive look of this mean machine. 
If you look closely at the exterior you’ll quickly notice something odd, the door handles are on the wrong side of the doors. This is for good reason though, as the front doors open suicide style and the rear doors have been converted from a rear slide to a motorized sideways slide, extending like wings from the sides of the vehicle. The fenders and widened stance of the vehicle required a solution for the rear slides, as they no longer had room to slide backwards. This gives the vehicle a VERY unique look. 
The vehicle is topped off with a custom roof rack that features lots of LED lighting, a Trac Vison satellite and a Flir camera system. The LED light bars will come in handy during the dark northern driving during the Alaska portion of the Ever-Better Expedition this winter. The Trac Vision satellite system allows Ever-Better team members to always be connected with the outside world through satellite internet service, which will be great for teleconferencing on the go. It also offers up satellite TV service, as you have to keep the team entertained. The Flir system, M-324xp night with HD recording, allows for 360 degree thermal night vision video recording, operated from the rear seats and displayed on the LCD display mounted between the front two seats. It should help with navigation and video production in the snowy dark environment this winter in Alaska. 
The interior of the UUV features custom rear bucket seats, UUV stitching in the headrests and floor mats and a full custom dash and interior panels. It is loaded with electronics like an LCD display mounted between the front two seats and a LARGE LED flatscreen in the rear of the vehicle. The two back seat passengers also get custom swiveling laptop mounts/desks. To keep everyone in high spirits a kicking 2,500 watt JBL stereo system will keep the tunes flowing. 
The one item on the rig that I just can’t get behind are the 22″ Monster Energy 534B wheels, which I find horrendously gaudy, but will fit right in with all the other not so useful bling at the annual SEMA Show. On those rims are Nitto Mud Grapplers, in a 37″ by 22″ size. What purpose, besides looking “aggressive,” are that low of a profile MT tire??? Luckily, Toyota actually has 4 different tire/wheel configurations that they will be utilizing on this vehicle, most of which are a bit more functional. An example being a studded set for winter driving when the Ever-Better Expedition resumes in Alaska after SEMA. 
Even thought the Toyota UUV isn’t a vehicle that the consumer will ever be able to purchase, it does show that the imagination of Toyota engineers is still full of amazingly cool vehicle concepts, hopefully some of which will trickle down into production vehicles. Have you ever seen a more technologically advanced, off-road capable or meaner looking mini van!!! The Toyota Ultimate Utility Vehicle is a true adventuremobile. 
I had the extreme honor of joining the Toyota Ever-Better Expedition in Salt Lake City, UT. Check out the good times I had with the team on the Bonneville Salt Flats International Speedway and at the Land Cruiser Heritage Museum, as well as a ton of the little details spotted at the museum (HERE).
