TOYOTA

Century V12 – Old-school Japanese luxury

Over the years, I've developed something of an obsession with the Toyota Century, Toyota's Japan-only flagship car and a source of vast pride for the company. When Emperor Akihito abdicated last week, his eldest son, Naruhito, succeeded to the Chrysanthemum Throne, and the car that took him to the ceremony was, of course, a Toyota Century Royal. Never mind that Akihito's personal car is a 1991 Integra sedan; the Century has been built to the specifications of the Japanese royal family since the first one was built in 1967. A month ago, I had the opportunity to travel to Japan, visit the Century assembly plant, speak with the Century chief engineer and ride around Tokyo for two days in a brand-new 2019 Century. Here's what I saw and learned.

My Toyota history goes deep: I bought a 1969 Corona sedan for $50 when I was 14, my daily driver today is a 1997 Lexus LS400 Coach Edition in jade green metallic and the most treasured car I've ever owned is a chopped, lowered, tuck-and-rolled, Carson-top-equipped '69 Corona coupe. When I disassembled a gajillion-mile Lexus SC400 down to its tiniest components, I learned what quality overkill looks like firsthand. While I've had more silly fun driving, say, a Honda Civic or a Chevy Impala, I look at Toyota products when I want competence so thorough it scares me. The Century is the car Toyota builds, more or less by hand, to show the Japanese people what the company can do.

When I visited Tokyo in the fall of 2017, I documented the Honda Super Cubs of the old Tsukiji Fish Market, lots of generally interesting cars on the street, hot-rodded kei cars and (of course) all the V12 Toyota Centuries I could find. And, because I love old film cameras as much as I love old cars, I hit the vintage-camera shops in Shinjuku and bought a very nice 1954 Ricohflex Model VII twin-lens reflex camera. I bought a roll of 120 film and took my new camera right to the 2017 Tokyo Motor Show, where the then-new third-generation Century was on display. The first photograph I shot with my Ricohflex, before I even knew if it worked or not, was of the Century's snout.

The Toyota Century is a prestigious high-class sedan, a favorite means of transportation for decades of the Japanese social elite, including the imperial family. Therefore, it is the most luxurious model from the Land of the Rising Sun, and a special place in history is occupied by the second generation powered by the V12 engine.

The Century was first introduced in 1967, on the occasion of the centenary of the birth of Sakichi Toyoda, the founder of Toyota. From the beginning, it was conceived as a formal sedan, intended exclusively for the Japanese market, with no ambition to compete with European luxury brands in their own way. This philosophy is most present in the second generation (G50, unofficially Century V12), which was produced from 1997 to 2017. It represents the most important and most respected version of this model. The design was consciously kept almost unchanged during two decades of production, without following trends and without trying to visually rejuvenate the car. This conservative and unpretentious approach may be hard to understand in Europe, but in Japan tradition is more valuable than constant change.

The same principle applies to the interior. The second-generation Century offers luxury that is not “eye-catching” or kitsch, unlike many of today’s high-end models. Instead of leather, traditional wool fabric upholstery was mostly used, for its quietness and pleasant feel. The finish is impeccable and the emphasis is, logically, on the ultimate comfort of passengers in the rear seats. The second generation is the last Century to retain its analog character, but also a symbol of a period in which Japan did not need to compare and compete with the West and China in the most luxurious segment. On the other hand, the G50 is to date the only generation of Century sedan that was not sold only in Japan. About 100 copies were made for other markets with the steering wheel on the left side of the body. 

The second-generation Toyota Century is the only production car from Japan in history with a V12 engine. The naturally aspirated five-liter unit with the designation 1GZ-FE was developed exclusively for this model and has never been used in any other Toyota. It delivers 280 hp at 5200 rpm and maximum torque of 460 Nm at 4000 rpm. The focus was not on power, but on smoothness, silence and reliability. The engine was designed to run almost silently, which was a different approach compared to the European V12 engines of the time, which often had a very pronounced sound but also a relatively sporty character. Power was transmitted to the rear wheels by a four-speed, and since 2005 a six-speed automatic transmission.

The third generation (G60) was introduced in 2018 with a V8 hybrid drive and more modern technology, which marked the end of an era. Toyota recently transformed Century into a separate, global luxury brand and offered an SUV model in addition to the sedan. This inevitably leads to commercialization and the loss of authenticity that the G50 possesses, synonymous with old-school Japanese luxury and the exact opposite of the newly composed rich and their "powerful luxury SUVs".

Autonews