JDM — a.k.a Japanese Domestic Market car — enthusiasts are no doubt be aware of the Toyota Century. It's an incredibly fancy full-size luxury sedan — think of it as Toyota's equivalent of a Maybach — starting around $200,000. It's produced in very limited numbers. It's the sort of status vehicle you don't drive yourself, and if you have to enquire about where to find one and haggle over the price, you probably aren't important enough to have one.
Toyota has been very conservative with the Century brand. The sedan has only received two overhauls in a nearly 60-year production run. The last one came in 2018. But according to Best Car Web in Japan, Toyota is planning to get with the times and build an SUV version of the century.
Per the report, the Century SUV will radically depart from the sedan. It will be less exclusive than the sedan and the sort of vehicle one would drive oneself in. The Century dropped the V12 during the last update for a V8 hybrid; the SUV would opt for a 3.5-liter V6 hybrid, similar to the one used in the Lexus LS 500h.
The new Century SUV, according to the report, will be about eight inches longer than the J300 Land Cruiser with a six-inch longer wheelbase. But it will also be around an inch narrower and eight inches shorter height-wise. The report prices the Century SUV at between 10 and 15 million yen. A range of $75,000 to $115,000 won't sound like a lot with the current exchange rate. But for context, it is about two to three times the domestic starting price of the Land Cruiser.
Best Car Web expects the Century SUV to be released and go into production in 2023. Don't expect it to come to North America.
