Akio Toyoda's Personal Century GRMN

The Century Has Returned with a Vengeance

The Toyota Century is a vehicle that is hardly reported on. It never receives the press of its British (let's just be honest here and call them German) competitors. The Century comes from a different background, it comes from a different pedigree, and it largely has a different customer base.

The Century is a car that few fully understand, especially here in the West. When we look for the top echelon of luxury, we turn to our British mates. Rolls Royce and Bently have long held the title of the elegant, some would say excessive, luxury class. The uber-lux segment is quickly heating up, with many of the luxury brands offering their top end full-size sedans with upgraded rear seats, such as BMW 750i’s Rear Executive Lounge Seating. However, these still fall short in comparison to the quality, care, and thought that goes into the Rolls and Bently. These are cars made by the rich, for the rich. They know what their customers need.  

A Differnt Mentality

For the Japanese, this is completely wrong. If you want to ride in the best that the market has to offer, you turn to none other than...Toyota? That is right. The Brits may know their customers, but gimmicky heated carbon fiber door umbrellas can only go so far. Okay, I admit, those are cool as hell and we all love them, but they just simply cannot take the place of absolute luxury for the backseat passenger. This is where the makers of the Camry, Supra, and the only pickup to be part of a building demolition and still can drive, come into play. 

>>Join the conversation about this possible GRMN Toyota Century right here at ClubLexus Forum!

"Established" Doesn't Begin to Explain

The Century has a long, and well-established history. It is the only choice for any Japanese businessman or woman that has any clout. If you want to be even considered to be of any importance, you must be driven in a Toyota Century. First released in 1967, it has only been reformed four times. Let me repeat that. For 52 years, the Toyota Century has been redesigned all but four times. Three of those were riding still on the same body platform! There are cars that have been redesigned more than four times since Kung Fu Panda 2 came out on DVD in 2011.

These guys don’t mess around. Once they release the new model, that's it. There’s no changing it. There are slight updates here and there, but nothing the casual observer would even notice. These are the type of people to submit a design, then in immediate dissatisfaction, run down the hall pushing anyone and everyone out of their way to burst into their head engineers office in apology for the unsatisfactory work they just turned in. 

>>Join the conversation about this possible GRMN Toyota Century right here at ClubLexus Forum!

Attention to Detail

The attention to detail that Toyota has built into the Century is remarkable, there is no comparison. Even more important than the quality, is the heritage and prestige. It may cost half as much as a Bently or Rolls, but it means twice as much. If you are rolling in an original Century, it means you had class, style, and more importantly, status. 

>>Join the conversation about this possible GRMN Toyota Century right here at ClubLexus Forum!

Gazoo Racing Masters of Nürburgring

But if you think that reliability, practicality, and utilitarianism, and of course, luxury, is all that Toyota can do? Oh boy, wait till you hear about their racing teams. Toyota is making moves. Moves that I, and most other enthusiasts, can get behind. Gazoo Racing is Toyota's newly formed performance division, essentially comparable to BMW’s “M” division. Once a vehicle has been visited by these performance wizards, the resulting product comes out with a GRMN badge. Not that “Gazoo” was an odd enough name already, GRMN stands for Gazoo Racing Masters of Nürburgring. Shivers run through me as I say that name. Damn, did they ever miss such a good opportunity here? Hell, TODD would be a better name. Toyota of Doing Donuts, who knows. Regardless, the cars they produce, and the generations of racing knowledge that they embody, are enormous. 

>>Join the conversation about this possible GRMN Toyota Century right here at ClubLexus Forum!

Aggressive is a Term I Never Thought Would

The car itself isn’t half bad to look at, as interesting as the concept may be. With a full chrome trim delete and the lower trim work painted black instead of the traditional chrome, the color scheme comes with a new aggressive look. To match the aggressive coloring, the front lip, side skirts, and rear bumper all get lower treatments. The front gets a semi splitter, while the rear actually gets a slight diffuser.

For a vehicle such as this, it's a bit like dressing up the dead. These cars are built off of their reputation and stature. The status of it being the civilized luxury ride has cemented it in the history books for years to come. Safe, practical, reliable as hell and does exactly what you need it to; chaffer you anywhere you need to go, in extreme comfort and class. 

>>Join the conversation about this possible GRMN Toyota Century right here at ClubLexus Forum!

Please, No Diffusers

Fluffing this up with a diffuser just seems irrelevant and, if I’m honest, a bit out of place. Now the thing about it is, the brand could use some living up for sure with more performance vehicles. The Century barely changes and IMHO putting a fire under the butts of the Century team may be exactly what they need. But for Mr. Akio Toyoda to go out and say they “told me not to drift it,” just seems a bit daft to me.

>>Join the conversation about this possible GRMN Toyota Century right here at ClubLexus Forum!

For help with your maintenance and repair projects, please visit our How-To section for more technical articles. 

Don't Taint the Brand

Rumors have been milling that Gazoo's collective knowledge will be brought unto none other than, the Toyota Century. The Brits and Germans have been doing badass versions of their full-size sedans for years, now it seems Toyota is following suit.

Recently, some images of Toyota President, Mr. Akio Toyoda, arriving at a press conference in what appears to be a Toyota Century GRMN model of some sort. There have been rumors of a car such as this for months now, and with the President of Toyota arriving at a press event, one can inevitably assume this will be a production, or at least an “if you’re the right customer”, vehicle. 

This is a bold move by Toyota, sure to rub many of their loyal Century customers in the wrong way. The Century, as we just discussed, is a well-established brand. The Century has a reputation to uphold, one in which a "sport" version, may alter. 

>>Join the conversation about this possible GRMN Toyota Century right here at ClubLexus Forum!