The automotive world is full of secret signals.
You’re fine never knowing them. But if you’re the type to take a highway cloverleaf a little faster than strictly necessary just to feel the wheels grip, they make a road trip more fun. You can enjoy passing a rare trim level of a car, or spotting a high-performance version of an otherwise common vehicle as it passes you.
One of our favorite shibboleths is Toyota’s annual choice of a signature color for a handful of special vehicles. The world’s largest automaker builds hyper-capable off-road versions of a few of its trucks and SUVs under the “TRD Pro” name.
There’s always a Tacoma TRD Pro, a Tundra TRD Pro, and a 4Runner TRD Pro. In recent years, there’s been a Sequoia TRD Pro as well, even if fewer buyers are likely to take their near-luxury, battleship-size family SUV to the dunes.
The TRD Pro models are always available in a signature color — a new one every year. For 2026, it’s a near-neon icy blue Toyota calls “Wave Maker.”
We like it. Almost-fluorescent blues have been a thing in the automotive industry in recent years. Ford’s Grabber Blue started the trend. Audi’s Turbo Blue is just a whisper deeper. Wave Maker is perhaps a bit lighter, almost designed to sell to University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill graduates.
It’s a radical departure from last year’s Mudbath and 2024’s rust-colored Terra.
“We had a few years of warm natural hues inspired by traditional landscapes like Terra and Mudbath as signature colors. With Wave Maker, we were inspired by unexplored areas of adventure, including extreme territory and even beyond Earth,” says Benjamin Jimenez, general manager of Toyota’s CALTY design research studio.
Toyota will send the first 2026 TRD Pro models to dealers in the fall.
We should note that you can still order a TRD Pro in the usual parade of whites, blacks, and grays. But speaking the secret language is more fun.
