Rumors have been swirling since early this year that Toyota is preparing to bring back the Stout name.
Since the beginning of the year, industry chatter has pointed to Toyota reviving the Stout badge. The modern interpretation is expected to be a compact pickup aimed squarely at lifestyle trucks like the Hyundai Santa Cruz and Ford Maverick rather than traditional body-on-frame workhorses.
Independent artists from the Digimods Design studio believe Toyota’s new pickup could borrow heavily from the styling of the upcoming mini Land Cruiser FJ. In the studio’s latest renderings, the truck adopts the boxy, rugged look of the smallest Land Cruiser in the lineup, a model that has yet to officially reach showrooms.
The biggest visual change appears at the rear. Instead of an enclosed cargo area, the design features a short open bed that can be covered with a plastic tonneau, turning the compact SUV silhouette into a functional pickup.
That said, adopting Land Cruiser-inspired styling doesn’t necessarily mean the truck would share the same body-on-frame construction. Most likely rivals, including the Santa Cruz and Maverick, use unibody platforms, making Toyota’s TNGA architecture—already underpinning the RAV4—a logical choice for the Stout’s mechanical foundation.
If the rumors prove accurate, Toyota’s answer to the Santa Cruz and Maverick could arrive within the next few years, adding a fresh contender to the growing compact pickup segment in the U.S.