- The new standalone brand will debut with a sleek high-riding coupe.
- Toyota displayed the Century concept beside a classic sedan.
- Likely rivals include the Rolls-Royce Wraith and Bentley Continental GT.
Riding high on record sales, Toyota is spinning off the Century nameplate into its own luxury brand, aiming to throw the gauntlet down to Bentley, Rolls-Royce, and other established brands. But as Hyundai has discovered with its Genesis brand, Toyota has a lot of work to do, especially in markets outside of Japan, to convince shoppers it doesn’t just build reliable cars but ones that can command premium price tags.
Toyota is now taking steps to make its big ambitions for the Century brand known. Earlier this week, the flagship Aoyama Lexus dealership in Tokyo, Japan, was remodeled to include a special Century Studio, where the company’s bright orange two-door Coupe concept is on display alongside a classic Toyota Century sedan.
Read: Toyota’s New Century Coupe May Get A Surprise V12
The showroom was changed to include these two Century models a little over two weeks ago, with Akio Toyoda sharing an image of the showroom and posting its location on Instagram. According to Hot Cars, the classic Century sedan added to the dealership was relocated from the Toyota Museum in Aichi Prefecture.
A Rolls-Royce Rival?
Photos Akido Toyoda, Century Instagram
Although firm details are thin on the ground regarding Century’s flagship Coupe, presented at December’s Japan Mobility Show, it has the potential to be a legitimate rival to the Rolls-Royce Wraith. While the idea of Toyota building a car to compete with one of the finest cars on the planet may seem a little far-fetched, there’s no knocking the ambition of Akio Toyoda.
Toyota has confirmed that the production version of this two-door will not be electric and will instead rely on a more traditional combustion engine. According to a recent report from Japan, this could be a 6.0-liter twin-turbocharged V12 with a plug-in hybrid system, potentially delivering upwards of 800 hp. Century models of old have a long and proud history of using V12 engines, and it’d be fitting if the new one does too.
When the car hits the market, prices are expected to start at 30-40 million yen ($189,000 – $251,000), and some high-end versions may even cost over 70 million yen ($440,000). Toyota will have to lean heavily on the car’s performance, luxurious cabin, and the brand’s ability to build vehicles that last for generations to convince shoppers to pay those kinds of sums.