New Toyota Prado Nudge Bar

The Australian automotive manufacturing sector wins again with the release of Toyota’s new flagship Prado.

Frontline Australasia has secured the contract to supply the updated Nudge bar accessory for all variants of the popular 4×4 vehicle.

Collaborating with Marc Fraser Design, Frontline’s new design is the result of intense yet rapid design and engineering activities, which yielded a manufactured solution within 4 months of pen hitting paper.

The final design is rugged yet complimentary to the new Prado facade. Internally, Frontline worked hard to find a way to securely and reliably fasten the accessory into an already densely occupied engine bay and front-end. Airbag sensor functionality and radiator airflow could not be affected, requiring a light-handed approach to the nudge bar’s structural and aesthetic design.

To secure Toyota’s initial buy-in, Marc prepared a series of exploratory design ideas that were woven into Frontline’s corporate presentations and commercial proposals. Upon project approval, selected concepts were refined and presented as finished illustrations using the latest in digital design tools. It was crucial during this phase that Marc worked closely with Frontline’s engineering team to ensure concepts would align with structural and installation design solutions being developed concurrently in-house.

The fully-engineered design was ready about 4 weeks later, and a complete and functional prototype (including rapid prototype SLS parts of plastic bumperette components) were shipped to Toyota’s Japan headquarters 2 weeks later for final signoff.

Marc’s concept design activities were completed within approximately 5 days total labour and is a great example of his highly responsive, adaptable and competitive product design process.

The new Nudge bar is now available Australia-wide as a dealer-fit genuine Toyota accessory.