Toyota Unveils Real-Life Manifestation of Cat Bus - An In-Depth Look at the Highly Anticipated Vehicle Design
Toyota Unveils Magical APM Cat Bus at Ghibli Park
In a delightful fusion of reality and fantasy, Toyota has unveiled the APM Cat Bus at Ghibli Park in Nagoya, Japan. The vehicle, inspired by the iconic Cat Bus from Studio Ghibli's film My Neighbor Totoro, offers a unique blend of playful imagination and functional transport.
Designed by carmaking professional Naoki Nagatsu, the APM Cat Bus was a challenging project, as it required moving from on-screen animation to a three-dimensional vehicle. Nagatsu and his team collaborated closely with Studio Ghibli director Goro Miyazaki to ensure every detail was true to the beloved Cat Bus character.
The interior of the APM Cat Bus features fur-like seats, evoking the softness and furry nature of the animated Cat Bus. This tactile detail aims to create an immersive, magical experience for passengers, making the ride feel more authentic. The roof is also lined with the same fur material, adding to the overall effect.
The APM Cat Bus's eyes face opposite directions, a unique and whimsical design feature that mirrors the quirky, fantastical nature of the original character. This detail enhances the sense that the bus is a living, playful creature rather than a conventional vehicle.
The design team also paid close attention to the vehicle's appearance from a child's height, ensuring that every detail was visible and engaging for young visitors. The color boundaries between different sections of the APM Cat Bus are slightly different between the data and the real three-dimensional molding, adding to the overall charm of the vehicle.
The steering wheel is centered in the vehicle, not placed on one side, and is colored to match the cat's fur, along with the instrument panel and other details. The APM Cat Bus's destination reads "Ghibli Park," and the decorative license plate contains a hidden meaning when sounded out in Japanese.
The APM Cat Bus is an electric small bus, making it a practical transport option for the theme park. Adjusting the tire pressure and ensuring the vehicle is level were crucial for the APM Cat Bus's design. The seat covers are removable for easy cleaning, making the vehicle suitable for its high-traffic use.
The APM Cat Bus was based on Toyota's Accessible People Mover (APM), used at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The "cat brown" sections on the APM Cat Bus are raised rather than outlined, and the design team added light gray in the space between the mouth and teeth, "cat lips" color for the lips, and "cat tooth" white for the teeth.
The APM Cat Bus made its debut at Ghibli Park, which opened recently and features recreations of Studio Ghibli settings to enable visitors, especially families and children, to immerse themselves in the world of the films. The bus is part of the highly Instagrammable design of the park, allowing guests to take photos and enjoy the experience fully.
In summary, the Toyota APM Cat Bus is designed to replicate the look and feel of the Studio Ghibli Cat Bus with fur-like seats, eyes that face different directions for character, and a license plate number carrying hidden significance, all contributing to an immersive and magical ride experience in Ghibli Park.
In this unique blend of automotive engineering and animation, Toyota's APM Cat Bus incorporates elements from the finance industry, showcasing removable seat covers for easy cleaning, thereby ensuring practical and maintenance-friendly transportation. The APM Cat Bus also carries a significant value in the technology sector, as it is an electric vehicle designed with adjustable tire pressure and level mechanisms for optimal functionality. Furthermore, the APM Cat Bus, a product of the automotive industry, collaborated with Ghibli, a renowned figure in the entertainment and finance sectors, to bring a piece of animation to life, enriching the experience of the park's transportation and merging industries in a captivating manner.
