AUTOMOBILE SALES

2000 TOYOTA WiLL Vi (JDM)

VIN: NCP19-0006769

88PS 2NZ-FE 1.3-litre 16v engine

Column mounted, four-speed automatic gearbox with O/D.

Pale Rose Opal Metallic (3N7)

Mileage: 48,000 km

To Be Auctioned on Bring-A-Trailer No Reserve

This BAT auction was picked up by the automotive media and went viral:

MSN

WiLL was created by a group of Japanese companies to launch a brand that would appeal to younger Japanese consumers. Toyota, Panasonic, Asahi Breweries and the Kinki Nippon Tourist Company created fax machines, folding bikes, fragrances and many other seemingly unrelated products under the WiLL brand.

Toyota’s contribution was a neo-retro redesign of their Yaris sub compact car - the WiLL Vi (vee-eye). This was the first of 3 limited production designs which also included the WiLL VS and WiLL Cypha.

WiLL Vi (left), WiLL VS (centre), and WiLL Cypha (right)

The cars were expensive, being about 50% more than a stock Yaris. They didn’t sell very well and only about 16,000 WiLL Vi were made over the model years 2000 and 2001. Toyota sold about 700,000 Yaris in that timeframe by comparison. The WiLL brand was wound down in 2005, but the brand exercise inspired Toyota’s Scion brand.

The styling of the WiLL Vi appears to be channelling the Citroen 2CV and Ami 6, though the designer claims it was inspired by a horse drawn carriage - the kind with Prince Charming inside. The colour of this WiLL Vi is 'Pale Rose Opal Metallic' which seems to fit the design brief of appealing to young women.

Citroen 2CV (left) and Citroen Ami-6 (right)

Heavy use of recycled materials and warm tones define the interior where a French theme continues - the dashboard design was apparently styled after a baugette!

Will Vi dash apparently styled after a baugette!

The automatic gear selector is moved to the steering column freeing up space for a front bench seat which is meant to resemble a living room couch.

About This Toyota Will Vi

This WiLL Vi was recently purchased in Japan, and is now registered in Alberta, Canada. It has had an oil service as well as the engine air filters replaced.