Something is clearly running through the water at Toyota HQ at the moment. Fresh from building a fully-functioning Pokémon, the manufacturing giant has turned its attention to another bit of Japanese pop culture.
This is the Cat Bus, which any Studio Ghibli fans will immediately recognise from My Neighbor Totoro. The Cat Bus only appears for a short while in the 1988 film, transporting Totor, Satsuki and Mei at various points, but has become an icon in its own right.
Toyota APM Cat Bus, rear
Now, Toyota has built a real, working version of its own and enlisted the help of Studio Ghibli director Goro Miyazaki for the project.
Based on the Toyota Accessible People Mover (APM), a low-speed EV designed for use at Tokyo 2020 Olympics, the bus has been given a complete makeover to resemble the one from the film. Sadly, it still requires wheels rather than six sets of legs, but the spirit is there.
Toyota APM Cat Bus, eyes
Some serious thought has gone into the design though. For example, the eyes (which also glow) don’t face forward but slightly out to the sides to achieve a ‘supernatural’ look. The destination board on the roof has purposely been dim-lit for a ‘60s feel and reads “Ghibli Park” when translated into English. Four mice sit on the top too, and have been placed to be visible at the eye line of a 100cm-tall (about 3’3”) child.
Toyota Times, the manufacturer’s internal magazine, says the biggest challenge of building the Cat Bus was taking a 2D animated character to a 3D form, highlighting that “while animated characters are drawn with outlines, no such contour lines exist on real-world objects.” To work around this, the brown sections are slightly raised rather than outlined to give them a more pronounced effect.
Toyota APM Cat Bus, seats
The interior has been styled to match the colours of the Cat Bus’ fur too, with ‘cat brown’ and ‘cat beige’ materials placed throughout. The seats are covered with fur-like upholstery, and are said to be removable for easy cleaning. You’ll also find that same fur-like material on the roof.
Sadly, the Cat Bus won’t be a full-scale production vehicle. A shame, as no doubt you’d see a few Studio Ghibli diehards driving around in them. However, they will see service at the Ghibli Park theme park in Nagakute, Japan.
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