Fantasy Fleet: Toyota Lunar Cruiser
It’s out of this world but could the Toyota Lunar Cruiser deliver a future cosmic solution for your fleet?
First it was the astronauts, now it’s the billionaires who are blasting off into space. As Jared Isaacman, along with engineer Sarah Gillis, became the first non-professional crew to perform a spacewalk (as opposed to a Moonwalk) in September, it’s quite possible (but probably very unlikely) they were thinking the trip would be made even more special if they had a car to drive up there.
Well, thanks to Toyota, that dream could soon be a reality, as the Japanese manufacturer is in the midst of developing the Lunar Cruiser. A collaboration with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the vehicle is being created as part of the Artemis space programme. Full disclosure, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is also involved, but that’s with the development of the Lunar Polar Expedition (LUPEX), as opposed to the JAXA side of things.
What’s the point? Well, Toyota says the Lunar Cruiser will enable it to “apply the fine-tuned technologies used in the Moon’s extreme conditions back on Earth”. Whether those wheels and tyres will make it to a production passenger car, or styling cues are taken from the split front windscreen, remains to be seen.
However, there are other innovations and technologies in the pipeline that could be adapted to vehicles used by us mere mortals back on planet Earth. These include radio signal navigation, safe driving route generation, an intuitive driving control, and driving assistance with a superimposed display. According to Toyota: “All learnings will favour safe driving on all kinds of terrain on Earth too.”
Other possible applications could be the remote and automated scanning of disaster areas or goods transportation in “dangerous zones”.
Inside the Lunar Cruiser, as you may imagine, space is at a premium (no pun intended). There is technically room for four crew, but the quartet could be living and working together for up to a month. To make things easier – or more bearable – for the duration, Toyota says it is putting an emphasis on user experience, driving performance and automated off-road driving.
We’ll have to wait until 2029 for the fuel-cell-powered masterpiece to enter service, but the Lunar Cruiser’s development will benefit from the LUPEX project, which will head to the moon in 2025.
Price: POA
Price: Out of this world!
Power: Fuel cell
Seats: Four
In production: 2029
Tyres: Bridgestone
Likelihood of making it onto the fleet? 0.54321/10
John Challen
John previously edited International Fleet World magazine, and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the role, having been in automotive journalism for more than 20 years. Over those two decades, he has researched and written about a vast range of automotive topics, including fleet, EVs, engineering, design, retail and the aftermarket.
