Toyota could be about to take on Rolls Royce and Bentley with this new brand

The Toyota Century is a car you may not have heard of unless you’re a fanatical fan of Japanese luxury cars. It’s an ultra-posh saloon car that first hit the streets in the late 1960s, and now it looks like Toyota is looking to take that name a step further.

It could be about to launch Century as a standalone luxury brand above Lexus to take on Rolls Royce and Bentley, and it might even start to sell cars outside of Japan for the first time.

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In this article…

• Century’s wild new concept car teased
• What’s behind that grille then?
• What is Century?

Century’s wild new concept car teased

Toyota is going to reveal the new Century coupe concept at the Japan Mobility show in October, and there’s a whiff of the Jaguar Type 00 about it.

It has an enormous bonnet and a bluff front end, and that massive grille gives it an imposing look. Unlike the electric Jag, there might actually be something behind that grille which needs cooling. More on that in a bit.

The interesting thing about the side profile is the doors, because it appears that they slide forwards past the front wing to create a massive opening so you can simply spill into the luxurious interior. We’re presuming it’s luxurious anyway, because Centurys have always had sumptuous interiors. , because there are no pictures of the cabin just yet.

Moving to the rear you can see another hint of Jaguar-ness in the way the roofline slopes down into the bootlid in one continuous line. There’s also no rear window by the look of things, just like the Type 00 and the Polestar 5.

What’s behind that grille then?

The Toyota Century saloon has been fitted with a variety of V8 and V12 engines over the years, and this new one is likely to have some form of petrol engine under the bonnet as opposed to using electric power.

It probably won’t be something shared with the Toyota and Lexus models on sale in the UK today, it’d need something a bit more grand than the selection of four-cylinder hybrids you’ll find in the Lexus ES and Toyota RAV4.

The current Century saloon is a good place to look. It uses a hybridised 5.0-litre V8 engine with 431hp, and it’d be no surprise to find a similar system in this new coupe.

What is Century?

Good question, because it’s a brand which has remained exclusive to Japan up until this point.

The Toyota Century first made its debut in 1967 as an ultra-luxurious saloon car for ferrying Japanese government leaders around. It had a smooth and powerful V8 engine under the bonnet, and it was extraordinarily comfortable.

The second generation continued to build on this, and it used a completely bespoke V12 engine which was never used in any other car. The current Century has downsized to a V8, but it’s still a seriously impressive bit of kit.

You can’t just walk into any Toyota dealer in Japan and buy a Century – there are dedicated showrooms for this car. It also doesn’t wear the oval Toyota badge, instead using its own Phoenix emblem. In a way, Century is already its own luxury brand.

But now Toyota wants to properly set Century apart as its own thing, and it’s gunning for Rolls Royce and Bentley with its future models. The coupe which has been teased here is a one of one concept car, but it gives us a taste of what to expect over the next few years.

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