In Japan, if you’re rich, you don’t roll in a Lexus; that’s reserved for plebeians. You hit the town riding in the Toyota Century. Turns out, the Kim Kardashians there are lucky because Toyota just rolled out the first completely re-designed Century in 21 years.

Imagine this: in the years between the previous and all-new Century, a kid would have been born and become old enough to drink, smoke, and do porn. Naturally, Toyota would have had all the time to come up with killer looks to chauffer Japan’s Rich & Famous, right? Errr…no. Instead, in keeping with tradition, they’ve come up with something very, very conservative. Why? Because Century owners aren’t ostentatious.



First shown at the 2017 Tokyo Motor Show, the Century does give off a retro-futuristic vibe. Beyond the basic theme though, there’s a lot of details like how designers concentrated in giving the rear quarters the most available space, resulting in an upright C-pillar. At the side, there’s actually a curvature to the doors, but since they’re polished at an angle, they appear as a single, prominent line. Their meticulous attention to detail extends to the grille work which uses an “infinite crown pattern” and a phoenix emblem that takes 6 weeks to make.

And while the Century’s available in a selection of colors, there’s a newly developed shade: Kamui. With 7 layers of paint, it gives off a sheen and deep finish similar to traditional Japanese lacquerware.

Inside, the Century offers treatment befitting of VVIPs. Not only does it offer more room than the outgoing model, but there’s a crazy attention to detail in here that includes making sure the floor lies flat to the scuff plate…with the floor mats installed (they did that by reducing the floor height by 15 millimters). And then, there’s a fabric headliner with a slanting lattice motif, a stepless adjustable power leg rest and built-in seat massager, and a 20-speaker, 12-channel amp infotainment system.



A magic carpet-like ride is ensured with its electronically-controlled air suspension and specially-developed tires, suspension arms, bushing, mounts, and other rubber parts. It also has an active noise control system that reduces noise and vibration the moment the engine starts.

In terms of performance, the all-new Century delivers 381 horsepower and 510 Nm of torque from its 2UR-FSE V8 engine. Coupled with a 224-horsepower electric motor, it combines for a peak output of 431 horsepower. Fuel economy isn’t too bad, registering at 13.6 km/L with Japan’s JC08 cycle.



Now, if you’re wondering how much will you have to cough up for all this Century luxury? Well, consider this: the previous Century rolled off the showroom at 11.5 million yen or P 5.2 million. At the time, it was already more expensive than even the Lexus LS. This new model? Oh, that price tag just went up to 19.6 million yean or about P 9.5 million. Damn. Anyway, it may sound pretty expensive, but Toyota actually expects to sell 50 of these a month.