The first update on the executive saloon in two decades brings a hybrid engine and new interior technology\u2014but to collectors\u2019 dismay, it won\u2019t be available outside Japan.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n T<\/span>oyota<\/strong> has just introduced a new Century. This is a big deal. The Toyota Century is the most exclusive car in Japan. Introduced in 1967\u00a0and named for the 100th\u00a0birthday of company founder Sakichi Toyoda, the Century defines top-tier Japanese luxury, the kind reserved for heads of state, chief executive officers, and Yakuza bosses. It is so iconic as a status symbol that it is exempt from stringent national restrictions on vehicle and engine size. It cannot even be purchased in a typical dealership, but only at specialized stores, and only by invitation. The emperor of Japan <\/span>is chauffeured around in a modified Century.<\/span><\/p>\n Stately, formal, and very conservative, the model has gone through only two generations in the 50 years since its inception. This is an eon in the automotive world, where a standard car generally lasts just six or seven years. Even the\u00a0Rolls-Royce Phantom<\/a>, which evolves at a glacial pace, recently saw a <\/span>generational change after a dozen model years.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cTokyo undergoes more trends and fashion movements than probably any [other] city on earth, but there are select things the Japanese respect <\/span>for tradition,\u201d says Ben Hsu, editor in chief and founder of the authoritative Japanese domestic-market vehicle site\u00a0Japanese Nostalgic Car<\/a>. \u201cThe Century is one of them.\u00a0The overall design has remained largely unchanged and immune to the latest styling trends.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n While it looks remarkably similar to the outgoing car, the third-generation Century actually features all-new bodywork. Look closely, and you will notice that it is slightly more formal in the angle of its front end, slightly more recumbent in the tilt of its windshield, and slightly thicker in its rear pillar, the better to protect the identities of its back-seat occupants (Centuries are most often chauffeured). It is also a smidge longer, wider, and lower, for ease of graceful entry and exit.<\/span><\/p>\n Inside, the car remains the same in many ways as well. Why mess with the hushed perfection of textured headliners, <\/span>hand-knit lace antimacassars and privacy curtains, and <\/span>expanses of clean-grain wood on the door trim, armrests, and writing table. Also remaining virtually unchanged is the wool velour covering the seating areas. Fabric seats such as these are viewed as far more elegant than leather in Japan, as they\u2019re quieter\u00a0and don\u2019t heat up or cool down with the climate. A hinged, pass-through opening from the left rear seat to the left front seat <\/span>remains another Century heritage feature, allowing pampered back-seat occupants to stretch their legs.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThis is the car of the Imperial Household,\u201d\u00a0says Masato Tanabe, deputy chief engineer on the Century redesign. \u201cSo this is foremost in the designers’ minds when they are considering <\/span>change. A certain amount of stability and externality is required in a vehicle with this use.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Of course, some concessions have been made to the contemporary era. A large display has been integrated on a raised armature between the rear seats to deliver information and entertainment to the VIP occupants. Another LCD panel in the armrest controls the temperature of the cabin\u00a0and the reclining and massaging functions of the rear seats. And there\u2019s a screen up front for the chauffeur as well.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cNew safety technology from the new Lexus LS has also been included,\u201d\u00a0Tanabe says. \u201cAgain, this is the imperial car, so when VIPs get in the vehicle, you want that person to be assured of safety. That said, there is no real trend in this car to go with high-tech materials. We must stick with the traditional materials and protect the history of the model.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Century has always been known for preternatural silence when <\/span>underway, although the previous-generation car featured a <\/span>trusty 12-cylinder powerplant that was unique to the car. It was not offered in any other Toyota vehicle, and no other Japanese car featured such a huge engine. (It was highly taxed in Japan.) In a nod to increased emissions and efficiency regulations, the new car sadly loses the distinctive V12\u00a0but features a new hybrid V8 engine. Electric motors, with their stealthy lack of exhaust noise, are well suited to luxury applications.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe love the V12, but we are not in that\u00a0era anymore,\u201d\u00a0Tanabe says. \u201cEven with the Century, we have to start thinking about the environment. This V8 Hybrid is still unique to this model and makes equal or higher output and refinement to the V12.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n While Toyota has had great success selling luxury cars to Americans via its upscale Lexus division, the Century has never been available in the U.S. market. But that hasn\u2019t stopped collectors and obsessives, who mine the internet for automotive unobtainium, from bringing them into the country. While American regulations preclude the import of most contemporary foreign-market vehicles, any car that is more than 25 years old can be brought over with impunity. While this leaves out the 12-cylinder Century II, which was first available only 20 years ago, in 1997, first-generation Centuries from 1992 or before are now fair game, and they have become increasingly sought after.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe Century is definitely a car worthy of collection, and there <\/span>are a handful floating around in the US,\u201d says Hsu. \u201cAs more Americans become aware of its special place in Japanese society, we\u2019re sure to see more here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Brad Phillips is one of those American Century fetishists. Phillips manages private client services for vintage automotive insurance and valuation company\u00a0Hagerty<\/a>, working with collectors who have vehicular assets in the more-than-eight-figure range. He owns a slew of British, Italian, and American cars. But he couldn\u2019t be <\/span>more ecstatic about his Century. So much so that he took his 1985 Century on a 3,100-mile road trip this summer. Despite the complete <\/span>unobtainability of spare parts, he would do it all over again.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/assets.bwbx.io\/images\/users\/iqjWHBFdfxIU\/iGRocsCmrq7g\/v1\/400x-1.jpg\")
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