Toyota's new Century flagship loses V12 in favor of hybrid V8 with an exception
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Toyota's new Century flagship loses V12 in favor of hybrid V8 with an exception
As luxury cars come, the Toyota Century has occupied its own very special niche. There haven't been that many generations of the Century built since the first version was unveiled 50 years ago: The initial car survived with relatively minor changes until 1997, and the second generation was at a glance nearly identical, except for one noteworthy thing — the V12 engine. Unlike the first, V8-engined Centuries, the 1997-2016 car was powered by a five-liter 12-cylinder, which produced 280 horsepower (of course it did). That engine was Toyota's first V12, and it made the Century the sole Japanese V12 production car. And now it is no more, as the new Century for the new century again makes do with a V8 engine, albeit with hybrid tech. The change is in favor of improved fuel consumption.
The new 2018 Century will be formally introduced in the Tokyo Motor Show. And very formal it is, with the lines drawn in conservative fashion, the design treading somewhere near recent Rolls-Royces and classic Lincoln Continentals. You couldn't mistake it for anything else, and the cloth interior in the sumptuously equipped car is worth noting: no noisy leather for the discerning customer. There's plenty of legroom available thanks to the wheelbase of over 10 feet, and audio and air conditioning can be controlled from the rear seat via the prominent touchscreen. The car will be made available to customers in mid-2018; traditionally, Japanese politicians and industry leaders have been seen traveling in a Toyota Century. There is also a custom-made royal edition, which still uses the V12 engine.
One other significant nameplate used by Toyota since forever is the Crown, and it too is reborn for the next decade. The Crown Concept has Toyota combining connected tech with driver involvement, as the carmaker says the Crown has benefitted from Nürburgring testing as well as the implementation of shared traffic information technology it calls ITS Connect.
The new 2018 Century will be formally introduced in the Tokyo Motor Show. And very formal it is, with the lines drawn in conservative fashion, the design treading somewhere near recent Rolls-Royces and classic Lincoln Continentals. You couldn't mistake it for anything else, and the cloth interior in the sumptuously equipped car is worth noting: no noisy leather for the discerning customer. There's plenty of legroom available thanks to the wheelbase of over 10 feet, and audio and air conditioning can be controlled from the rear seat via the prominent touchscreen. The car will be made available to customers in mid-2018; traditionally, Japanese politicians and industry leaders have been seen traveling in a Toyota Century. There is also a custom-made royal edition, which still uses the V12 engine.
One other significant nameplate used by Toyota since forever is the Crown, and it too is reborn for the next decade. The Crown Concept has Toyota combining connected tech with driver involvement, as the carmaker says the Crown has benefitted from Nürburgring testing as well as the implementation of shared traffic information technology it calls ITS Connect.
Racer
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I'll actually be going this year. Looking forward to seeing the new crown especially. It will mean the Lexus gs will be right around the corner as well, hopefully. Also rumors of the supra but not keeping my hopes up
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Here was Buick's version....in the Electra Park Avenue
Last edited by mmarshall; Oct 5, 2017 at 04:06 PM.
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With normal use and maintenance the old velour would look soiled and funky pretty quick.
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I never had a problem with stains in my velour/cloth seats in all the cars I owned. They've always held up better than leather IMO. My old Buick with the maroon velour, 12 years old, interior looked brand new. My suggestion is to not be a slob and do not eat MickeyD's drive-thru in your car.
Anyways, glad to see Toyota putting out a new Century. This new one does look a bit more like a current Rolls, but then again you could say Rolls ripped off the boxy look of the Century when they did the Phantom about 12-13 years ago. This is seriously one of my favorite cars Toyota makes, so traditional Japanese. I thought about buying one a couple years ago(get it shipped from Japan), but the difficulty of finding parts in this part of the world kind of scared me off(especially air suspension parts)
Anyways, glad to see Toyota putting out a new Century. This new one does look a bit more like a current Rolls, but then again you could say Rolls ripped off the boxy look of the Century when they did the Phantom about 12-13 years ago. This is seriously one of my favorite cars Toyota makes, so traditional Japanese. I thought about buying one a couple years ago(get it shipped from Japan), but the difficulty of finding parts in this part of the world kind of scared me off(especially air suspension parts)
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Oct 2003
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From: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
I never had a problem with stains in my velour/cloth seats in all the cars I owned. They've always held up better than leather IMO. My old Buick with the maroon velour, 12 years old, interior looked brand new. My suggestion is to not be a slob and do not eat MickeyD's drive-thru in your car.
Anyways, glad to see Toyota putting out a new Century. This new one does look a bit more like a current Rolls, but then again you could say Rolls ripped off the boxy look of the Century when they did the Phantom about 12-13 years ago. This is seriously one of my favorite cars Toyota makes, so traditional Japanese. I thought about buying one a couple years ago(get it shipped from Japan), but the difficulty of finding parts in this part of the world kind of scared me off(especially air suspension parts)
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No. My son is not allowed to eat in the car. He is allowed to drink but the cup / bottle must be covered and cannot be full. I have never had a problem with any of my cars looking like a fast-food restaurant.