Much like the latest Crown has blossomed into a four-model lineup, Toyota wants to bank on the Century's prestige by introducing additional versions. Inevitably, there's going to be an SUV derivative of the fullsize luxury sedan. As some of you will recall, the newcomer was teased about a week ago at the end of a presentation dedicated to the next-generation Alphard and Vellfire minivan. A new unofficial rendering attempts to see into the future.
Ahead of its official reveal confirmed to take place in the following months, the 2024 Toyota Century SUV (name not announced yet) gets an unofficial makeover. Yes, it looks like a Rolls-Royce Cullinan made in Japan, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. The teaser was rather vague, so it's too soon to say whether it'll be a jacked-up version of the sedan as imagined here, or the design team was given more freedom.
Either way, it should look imposing given its sheer size as rumor has it the Century SUV will be approximately 5.2 meters (205 inches) long and nearly 2 meters (78 inches) wide. Japanese outlets have said it'll cost about three times more than a base Land Cruiser but it'll still be more affordable than the Century sedan. The latter has been around in its third iteration since 2018, without the V12 of its predecessor.
The SUV-ified variant is highly unlikely to bring back the twelve-cylinder engine and we're hearing it's not even getting the current sedan's V8. Instead, Toyota apparently intends to install a V6 combined with a rear-mounted electric motor. We won't have to wait much longer to find out what lies under the hood as Nikkei Asia reports the Century SUV will be launched in Japan this August.
It's not the only variation of the current-generation Century as former Toyota boss Akio Toyoda had a GRMN one-off built just for him a few years ago. In addition, Japan's emperor Naruhito used a Century four-door convertible as the official royal parade car during his coronation ceremony.
