Toyota revels Nightshade special-edition trucks at Chicago Auto Show

What do potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and eggplants have to do with Toyota? Truth be told, nothing; however, they are all nightshades. Ostensibly taking a cue from this family of plants, the Japanese automaker offers a series of special-edition Nightshade vehicles, and it's expanding that range for 2021.

The Corolla sedan and hatchback, Camry, 4Runner and Sienna minivan are already available in blacked-out guise, but at the Chicago Auto Show Toyota revealed Nightshade versions of the Tacoma and Tundra trucks as well as its Sequoia SUV.

Based on Limited-trim models, these body-on-frame vehicles are all graced with black leather seating surfaces, plus plenty of blacked out exterior trim, including mirror caps and door handles. Their grilles are treated to a dark chrome finish as well.

Giving customers some choice, rear- or four-wheel drive is on the menu with each of these vehicles, though no performance or powertrain alterations have been made.

The Tacoma Nightshade rolls on dark-finished 18-inch alloy wheels. Its exhaust tip and fog-light bezels are blacked out and it gets a new grill insert.

Like its smaller sibling, the Tundra Nightshade's wheels and exhaust tip have been blackened like the flue of a woodburning stove after a long, cold winter. Similarly, the Sequoia Nightshade features an array of blacked-out components, from its lower grille and body moldings to the fog-light surrounds and exterior badges.

Fortunately, these vehicles are not entirely black. Yes, you can get them all in Midnight Black Metallic or Magnetic Gray Metallic paint colors, but the Tacoma and Tundra are also both available in an extra-cost hue called Windchill Pearl. The Tundra can also be had in Super White, while the nightshade-ified Sequoia is offered in an additional color called Blizzard Pearl.

As for production, Toyota is planning on building 5,000 Nightshade-edition models of both the Tacoma and Tundra, but only 2,500 copies of the Sequoia are planned.