In the land of the rising sun, it’s the country’s leading automaker that also sits at the top of the heap in low volume, very expensive luxury cars. Toyota has been making the VIP-centric Century ‘limousaloon’ since 1967.
Built on the Crown Eight, the first iteration of the Century was originally conceived as a no-compromise celebration model to mark the 100 years since the birth of the company’s founder, Sakichi Toyoda.
Since then, and within its three generations, the car has been often used as the transport of choice for dignitaries, heads of state, titans of business, and of course, members of the Japanese imperial household.
The Century shown here was first unveiled in October 2017 in preparation for the commencement of production. Being their most ambitiously luxurious offering, the entirely hand built car is priced to start at around AU$242k, but can climb to 60 million Yen or roughly 740,000 Australian Dollars. That’s Rolls Royce money for a Toyota.
There’s a staggering amount of craftsmanship that goes into the creation of each car, as you might have expected. Many of its most extravagant fitments require many man hours to hew, such as its unique phoenix badge, which takes six weeks alone to fashion. Toyota expects to sell just 50 per month, plenty considering its astronomical price and that it’s a model limited to Japan.
This new 3rd-generation model arrives 21 years since the debut of its predecessor, and despite the progress of time and trends, the Century keeps true to its classic roots both stylistically and philosophically, resulting in a rather timeless design that’s simple, minimal, quintessentially Japanese, and a car that utilises many traditional coach building and crafting techniques in its construction.
Available in its signature ‘eternal’ black, a dark burgundy, or a subtle light grey, the Century is treated to a new finish called Kamui, comprised of a 7-layer finish that employs traditional Japanese lacquer techniques. From there, meticulous wet sanding process is carried out three times to smoothen out even minute unevenness before it receives its final mirror finish.
Over the version it replaces, the all-new Century features a wheelbase extended by 65mm to create more space for its rear occupants as well as to accommodate a larger door for easier access and exit. For that same reason, it’s also been lowered by 15mm.
The more upright angle of its door pillars, the C-pillar especially, was decided upon to to emphasise its role as a chauffeur model and the significance of the individuals being ferried. Inside, the Century’s upholstery can be specified to be hand-weaved wool or leather, each matched to its own special wood trim accents.
Left rear passengers enjoy a step-less adjustable power leg rest and a massaging seat as well as the 11.6-inch rear seat entertainment screen with 12-channel audio and 20 speakers. A secondary 7-inch touchscreen is located in the centre armrest, allowing easy control of media, comfort, and connectivity functions.
Where the previous Toyota Century employed a naturally aspirated 5.0-litre V12, this 2018 version uses a 5.0-litre V8 instead. It’s essentially the same 2UR-FSE unit found in the Lexus LS, but tuned more for refinement and smoothness than outright performance.
The V8 is augmented by an electric motor and integrated nickel-metal hydride battery, with which the hybrid system is able to output a total of 317kW - approximately 10kW less potent than the similar Hybrid Drive system powering the Lexus LS600h. Toyota estimate this powertrain is capable of an impressive 7.35-litres/100km consumption figure in a combined cycle.
Being in the finest example of Toyota’s capabilities as an automaker, the Century is also furnished with nearly every active safety feature the company could throw at it. The newly updated Toyota Safety Sense suite includes Blind Spot Monitoring and Parking Support Alert optimised specifically for this model along with the more common Pre-Collision features, Lane Departure Alert, Radar Cruise Control, and Adaptive High Beam.
For more on Toyota cars, check out our Showroom.
