The Century SUV illustrations in this article are speculative and not related to or endorsed by Toyota
Toyota is poised to expand its SUV range with a new flagship model that will adopt the Century moniker and is set to debut within 2023. The previously rumored luxurious offering has now been officially confirmed, showing an imposing silhouette reminiscent of the Rolls-Royce Cullinan in a dark teaser.
During the presentation of the all-new Alphard and Vellfire, Toyota’s Chief Branding Officer Simon Humphries made the surprise announcement of the Century SUV. More specifically he said: “The Toyota Century is the ultimate chauffeur experience but it will too have to evolve as we move toward the future. And later in the year, I hope to have a chance to share the outcome of that story with a new addition to Toyota’s chauffeur series. It will certainly be an impressive step in our mission to change the future of cars.”
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Those comments (made at the 12.20 mark of the video) suggest that the Century SUV will be an important model for Toyota, representing the pinnacle of styling, comfort, luxury, and technology. The teaser photo that was projected on the screen looks very dark in the screenshot from the official video, but journalists that were present got a clearer view. The proportions, long bonnet, dropping character line, greenhouse, D-Pillar, and retro-inspired tail look similar to the Rolls-Royce Cullinan. We don’t know how the Goodwood company will feel about it but the Century SUV could be easily nicknamed the “Rolls-Royce from Japan”.
Reports from earlier this year suggest that the Century SUV could ride on the TNGA-K architecture, which is already used by several models including the Toyota Highlander and Lexus TX SUVs, as well as the Toyota Alphard / Vellfire and Lexus LM minivans. The new flagship SUV is expected to come fitted with a hybrid powertrain, although chances are that it will swap the electrified V8 of the Century sedan for a more sensible and efficient setup combining a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine with dual electric motors.
The Century SUV is rumored to cost around ¥15 million ($105k) in Japan, which would make it cheaper than the ¥20 million ($140k) Century sedan. Production is expected to take place at the Tahara plant in Japan, while there is a high chance that Toyota will also export the Century SUV to other markets. The debut has been confirmed for “later in 2023”, although local media report a possible date in August. Until then, you can check out the AI-generated drawings we created that shouldn’t look that much different from the actual production model.
