It is certainly not every day that one sees a Toyota minivan kick up gravel in anger.
When people think multi-purpose for an MPV, they tend to imagine a vehicle that can do the school runs, grocery hauls and the odd family road trip. But here is a Toyota Noah kicking up a rooster tail of dirt and dancing sideways across a rally stage, in a glorious reminder of how truly multi-purpose an MPV can be!
Now for those wishing to know more about this rather curious sight, the context behind this rallified fourth-generation Noah is that it is the chariot of choice for the aptly named Team Noah — a company racing outfit under Toyota Auto Body. All the photos seen here come from its debut at the Toyota Gazoo Racing Rally Challenge, and the video below (unfortunately only in Japanese) is highlight reel of this MPV’s time at the event.
Incidentally, Team Noah was born from the existing activities of Team Hiace, Toyota Auto Body’s first van-based motorsport effort that began in 2023. So yes, somewhere out there there’s also a rally-prepped Hiace slinging dirt in a similarly unlikely fashion.
Unfortunately, details on what exactly has been done to transform this Noah into a gravel-slinging machine are somewhat thin on the ground. But even with just the handful of photos floating around, this MPV nevertheless shows itself to be a true blue motorsports machine (not least because of its literal blue-black racing livery)
Racing livery aside, the usual chrome garnish of the stock Noah has also been replaced with matte black trim for a more aggressive aesthetic. Racing wheels now poke purposefully out from under its standard arches as well, with a bright red tow hook jutting from the front bumper adding the finishing touch to its racing image.
Moving along inside, the seven comfy seats and plush finishings of the standard Noah have all been gutted. And in their place instead are two carbon-backed Bride racing buckets and a Sparco racing steering wheel, with of course a full roll cage running right through this massive box on wheels.
Funnily enough though, Toyota left the original leather-lined dashboard more or less untouched. The massive 10.5-inch infotainment screen is still there, and it even apparently looks like the automatic climate control still works (presumably to keep both occupants cool and composed when the red mist of competition sets in).
With regards to what lies under the hood of this rallified MPV, the “B” on the still-stock gear lever hints that this Noah is in fact a hybrid, which in its stock form at least sees a 1.8-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder paired with an electric motor under the hood, for a modest combined output of 140 PS. From the energy flow diagram on the central screen too, there interestingly shows no arrow to the rear axle, meaning this rally-prepped MPV is running in the dirt with just front-wheel drive.
In a brief press release, Toyota Auto Body states that it “will continue to work on creating people and better cars through rally activity.” It goes on to say that they hope Noah and Voxy owners will “feel the powerful running and high driving performance through rally, and come to like Noah/Voxy even more.” A veiled hint perhaps that some performance parts for these humble MPVs could eventually trickle down to the showrooms, or even perhaps an actual Toyota GR MPV?
Worth highlighting at the end here also is that while this rally-prepped Noah is certainly a cool sight to behold, it isn’t actually the first time the idea of racing people carriers has captured the public imagination. Old Top Gear, after all, had once staged an unforgettable segment with a grid full of minivans going door-to-door on a racetrack, with the predictable Top Gear hilarity ensuing.
And let’s not forget too that the original Toyota Estima could be had with a mid-mounted boosted V6. Pretty much a Ferrari 296 GTB then… but with the possibility of putting a baby seat in the back!
