Toyota's Coolest TRD Pro Colors Are Years In The Making

Back in 2014, Toyota launched a new model series from its Toyota Racing Development (TRD) department called TRD Pro. The TRD Pro lineup initially included the Toyota 4Runner SUV plus the Toyota Tacoma and Toyota Tundra pickup trucks. It later expanded to include a new model, the Toyota Sequoia three-row SUV, for the 2020 model year and beyond.

Since their inception, the TRD Pro trucks have offered an exclusive one-year-only color typically not available on lower trim models. Some of our favorites include 2016's Quicksand, 2019's Voodoo Blue, and 2020's Army Green.

For 2022, the exclusive colors were split, with each model getting its own color. With TRD Pro inching closer to its ten-year anniversary, CarBuzz spoke to Toyota's Cross Car Line Planning and Color Planning teams to learn how the company comes up with some of these outstanding hues.

The following quotes can be attributed to Janis Shard (Sr. Manager, Cross Car Line Planning), Victoria Poggetto (Manager, Cross Car Line Planning), and Kelly Hyde (Senior Analyst, Color Planning.)

The TRD Pro exclusive colors for each year are as follows: Inferno Orange (2015), Quicksand (2016), Cement (2017), Cavalry Blue (2018), Voodoo Blue (2019), Army Green (2020), Lunar Rock (2021), Lime Rush (2022 for 4Runner), Electric Lime Metallic (2022 for Tacoma), and Solar Octane (2022 for Tundra and Sequoia). More conventional paints such as black and white were offered in most years as well.

"The chosen colors are spectacular, and our TRD Pro buyer appreciates the exclusivity," the team told CarBuzz. "We do often offer exterior colors during year two for the TRD Family on Sport and Off-Road models," as that helps offset some of the cost involved with creating a new color each year.

With the ten-year anniversary coming up, we wondered if some of those colors might come back. "To date, we have not repeated a color, although never say never," the team answered. "You never know when an oldie but a goodie can make a comeback." While this isn't an outright refusal, it seems unlikely Toyota will bring back the exact same paint color.

That doesn't mean we won't see some new colors with historic inspiration. "As TRD Pro started to take off, we had the opportunity to repurpose FJ Cruiser colors that had made such an impact with off-road enthusiasts. The FJ Cruiser was discontinued, but the colors were able to bring to life a new vision. TRD Pro is approaching our ten-year anniversary and continues to be one of our favorite projects. There are no rules, and we look to many places for design inspiration to capture the true spirit of TRD Pro and offer something unexpected."

Toyota's creative team has already proven there are no strict rules when choosing paints, as the current TRD Pro lineup now includes three different exclusive colors. "4Runner and Tacoma in Lime Rush and Electric Lime were an appetizer to the all-new Tundra color palette (also shared with the upcoming Sequoia). A brand-new TRD Pro color, Solar Octane, took center stage to highlight the exterior styling and interior changes."

Splitting up the TRD Pro exclusive colors was probably a smart plan, as the all-new Tundra and Sequoia have a vastly different design language than the 4Runner and Tacoma, which last received new generations in 2009 and 2015, respectively. Those lime colors would look totally out of place on the Tundra and Sequoia, both of which are better suited to Solar Octane. With four unique model lines each with different product cycles, Toyota needs to carefully plan ahead on these TRD Pro colors. In fact, the team has to plan years in advance.

"Color development has a lot of phases. Once the color position is selected, there are still several rounds of testing that need to be done. We usually target three to four years in advance. As an example, we are already working on model year 2027 colors," the team said. That means the aforementioned ten-year anniversary colors for 2024 are already chosen, as are the hues for the long-awaited next-generation 4Runner and Tacoma. Unfortunately, we couldn't squeeze out any more information about those models. Sorry, we tried.

What does the future hold for Toyota's wacky TRD Pro colors? No matter what, Toyota will keep having fun creating them them to please the enthusiasts. "Not all of the colors are vibrant; they are chosen with thoughtful precision to appeal to our customer. We would ask, 'why not be vibrant?' 'Why not be muted?' It is all about having fun."

Sadly, Toyota's fun colors have some limitations. Offering a new color each year isn't cheap. "TRD Pro vehicles are batch-painted to help maximize what makes sense with making low-production colors cost-efficient, the team told us. "At some automakers, limited colors can cost thousands of dollars extra. Lime Rush is a no-cost color. The Toyota Manufacturing Process has its advantages." That rules out any sort of "Paint To Sample Program" like Porsche offers, but it means Toyota can continue creating great exclusive colors for its exciting TRD Pro lineup.