Tiny Toyota EV goes for gold with Olympic heavy lifting

Toyota has welcomed its cutest new family member during this year’s Summer Olympics in Paris.

This year, miniature remote-controlled Toyota bZ4Xs – dubbed Field Support Robots – have been used to retrieve equipment during field events including javelin, discus, shot put and hammer throw.

In a video posted on X – formerly known as Twitter – the mini EV is seen travelling from one end of the field to another.

It’s one of the many Toyotas being showcased at the Paris Olympics, as the Japanese car giant returns as a vehicle supplier after holding the role at Tokyo three years ago.

The earliest known instance of pint-sized vehicles being used to retrieve equipment at the Olympics came at the 2000 Sydney Games, where a small sprint car-esque machine was driven within what’s now known as Stadium Australia.

Remote-controlled vehicles were first used in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, before again being adopted at the 2012 London Olympics, with Mini’s iconic Hatch making an appearance thanks to a branding tie-up.

The 2016 Rio Olympics modelled their RC after a trophy truck-style pickup, while the 2020 Tokyo Olympics based its four-wheeled helpers on Toyota’s autonomous shuttle buses which were being used to ferry athletes from accomodation to stadium.

Tokyo also had another Toyota RC car, designed with miniature goal posts and turf on top to carry the ball out for rugby matches.

MORE: Olympic protests haven’t stopped Toyota using Paris Games to push hydrogen