The Toyota Century

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I had a thought wondering if there was ever a V12 JDM car produced for road-going use, and after some discussion with Van of GrandJDM, he pointed me to the 1997 Toyota Century Limousine - the only Japanese FR V12 powered car.

Being the inquisitive sort, I decided to take a look at this immense beast in some detail, and discovered yet another JDM car with a tonne of history and character.

About the Century

Named in homage to the 100 year anniversary of Japan becoming an open, trading country, the iconic Toyota Century began production in 1967, built by under contract by Toyota by Kanto Auto Works, Ltd. One of the largest JDM cars of its type, the first generation of the car surprisingly remained essentially the same for the following 30 years till the second generation in 1997.

Almost all Toyota Century’s are painted black, and all are FR layout based, luxury full size 4 door sedans with 3 or 4 speed automatic transmissions. The first generation (1967-1997) Toyota Century was based on the Toyota Crown, and so the 1967 model carried an upgraded version of the Toyota 3V 2.6L v8, bored to 3.0L. Following years would see upgrades to the 3V till its retirement in favor of the 3.4 L 4V-U V8 (1973), and 4.0 L 5V-EU V8 (1982).

It wasn’t till the second generation Century in 1997, that the car would receive the V12. The most expensive luxury car in the Japanese market received the 206KW (276HP) 1GZ-FE V12, a considerable power jump from the outgoing 5V-EU’s 140KW (187HP) and also received a new 6 speed automatic transmission. It received a bevy of other features such as, electrically closing and opening doors, and massaging rear seats, but stylistically the interior and exterior remained almost identical to the 1967 model that started the namesake.

The Century is a very low volume car, and while not strictly handmade, the car is scrutinized as if it was handmade, and hence the quality is extremely high. Considered a tasteful and conservative sign of wealth and success, the car does away with a flashy show of chrome, gold and platinum (often leather is discarded for quality cloth) to reflect complete conservatism and hence traditional Japanese restraint and manners.

Made to order, the Century is also a car of choice for the Japanese Imperial family who ride in one of five specially customized of the Century aptly named the Century Royal.