Japan is a country that you’d associate primarily with extremely reliable cars and affordable commuters – not really high-end luxury cars with massive engines. Yet, the luxury segment produced many of Japan’s most interesting cars over the years. Brands like Lexus and Acura have managed to establish a strong presence in the western market, but the craziest and most luxurious Japanese car ever is still one that most gearheads don’t know anything about, and it’s neither a Lexus, Acura, nor an Infiniti.
One of the last remaining bastions of the traditional idea of a luxury car, this Japanese car features a massive V12 engine under the hood, and its badge may surprise you.
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The G50 Toyota Century Is Japan’s Only V12 Production Car
Toyota
Divisions
Lexus
Founded
1937
Founder
Kiichiro Toyoda
Headquarters
Toyota City, Aichi, Japan
Specs
Engine
5.0-liter V12
Transmission
4-speed automatic (1997-2004), 6-speed automatic (2005-2016)
Power
276 hp (Japan), 295 hp (export)
Torque
340 lb-ft
When it comes to JDM legends, there aren’t many that are more legendary than the Toyota Century. It’s a model that’s been around for decades, and its history is one of the most interesting out of any car that’s ever gone on sale. While it might seem odd in the era of Lexus being Toyota’s luxury division that the Century is branded as a Toyota, it’s actually not that illogical. For many decades, Toyota had enough brand value for Japanese customers for them to be able to sell an ultra-luxurious car under the Toyota badge.
The G50 generation of the Century is the generation that gets the most of that legendary treatment. Produced from 1997-2016 (a production run of nearly 20 years!). It’s an ultra-luxurious sedan filled with the most luxurious materials, craftsmanship, and technology available at the time. While that’s all very impressive, what really gives this car its legendary status is its powerplant. It was the only Japanese car ever to come with a V12 from the factory, and one that was developed fully in-house to boot.
Why Does The Century Have A Supercar Engine?
The G50 Century’s V12 was unique to the car. It’s 5 liters in size and produces a claimed 295 hp and 340 lb-ft of torque in export versions of the car. It was claimed to only produce 276 hp in Japan, but that was only due to the gentleman’s agreement that Japanese automakers had signed due to road safety concerns. Japanese automakers would often just say that their most powerful cars produced 276 hp, and their actual power output would be the same as what was claimed for export models.
It’s not as if absolute power was that important to the Century’s clientele, anyway. They wanted something that had impeccable smoothness. That’s something that V12s produce in spades, and the engine in the G50 Century certainly lived up to that reputation.
An Old-Fashioned-Looking Land Yacht
The G50 Century has a very distinctive design. It’s remarkably old-fashioned in appearance, looking more like an American land yacht from the ’70s than the more rounded and futuristic shapes that were becoming the trend in the mid-late ’90s. Perhaps more crucially, it looks barely any different from the previous generation of the car. That works well for the Century’s purpose. It’s supposed to be a car for businessmen (and Yakuza bosses…) who wanted to travel in something classy, understated, and with a more traditionalist leaning.
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This Toyota Is More Luxurious Than A Mercedes-Benz
The G50 Century may only have a Toyota badge. But don’t let that fool you. This car is so luxurious that it makes a Mercedes-Benz S-Class look miserly. If anything, it’s more comparable to a Bentley or a Rolls-Royce! It may only have cloth seats, but that was chosen because Toyota thought that it would be a better and more comfortable material to use than leather. The doors and trunk lid are all soft-close so you don’t have to slam anything, and the rear windows have net curtains for privacy. The G50 Century was packed full of much of the latest technology of the ’90s, too. This included satellite navigation and multi-zone climate control.
As you might expect from a car designed to chauffeur CEOs around, the rear seats are the best place to be. These seats have heating and massage functions and can electrically recline. There’s also a pass-through that can be created by opening up the back of the front passenger’s seat. This lets whoever’s being chauffeured stretch their legs out all the way. Not even the nicest Rolls-Royces have this feature!
It Had An Incredibly Long Production Run
One of the things the Toyota Century is best known for, as well as its understated and underrated luxury, is how little it’s changed over the years. There have only been three generations of the Century, and the first and second generations both had production runs that lasted well over a decade. The G50 Century we’re talking about here was in production from 1997-2016. That’s a span of almost 20 years! During that time, it didn’t even get a midlife facelift. It stayed exactly the same and kept the same V12 engine. The only real mechanical difference is that it gained a new transmission after 2004. The original 4-speed automatic from the 90s was ditched and replaced with a more modern 6-speed unit.
When you take the people who typically bought the Century into account, it’s really not that surprising that the G50 had a 19-year span where it went almost completely unchanged. Century customers are on the more conservative end of things and don’t like to shout about their wealth. An old-school luxury sedan that’s kept that 1970s-1990s philosophy of what a luxury car should be fits them the best. They’re not impressed by mountains of tech or sportier performance and handling. They just want to be comfortable as they’re shuttled from their home to their office or between business meetings (or anything else).
It Was Japan’s Official State Car
Wikimedia Commons
Specs
Engine
5.0-liter V12
Transmission
6-speed automatic
Power
276 hp
Torque
340 lb-ft
The G50 Toyota Century is the absolute pinnacle of what you could buy in the Japanese Domestic Market from the ’90s to the ’10s. There was no better demonstration of this than the Century being the official state car of Japan! A special version of the Century was commissioned for the Emperor of Japan to be driven around in on state business. This version is called the Century Royal. The Century Royal has exactly the same powertrain as the regular Century, but it looks noticeably different and is longer and taller. The interior is also much nicer than even the regular Century, including materials such as Japanese washi rice paper for the headliner.
Being a state car protecting a really important leader in Japan, the Toyota Century Royal is known to have additional security measures. What those security measures are is classified. Considering what protections other state cars have, it’s safe to assume that the Century Royal is armored in some way.
How Can You Get a V12 Toyota Century, And How Much Do They Cost Used?
If you live outside of Japan, buying a G50 Toyota Century isn’t the easiest task. The majority of G50 Centuries were sold in its home market, and not that many people have imported Japanese market examples to Europe or North America. If you really want one of these, you’re likely to have to import one yourself.
The upside to all that trouble is that it, shockingly, doesn’t cost that much to buy one of these. The average value for G50s that have been imported already is around $17,095, according to classic.com. Examples for sale in Japan often don’t seem to break the $20,000 or $30,000 mark either. For a huge V12 luxury car, that really isn’t much!
What Happened To The Toyota Century?
Specs
Engine
5.0-liter V8 with an electric motor
Transmission
eCVT
Power
425 hp
Torque
376 lb-ft
The G50’s production run may have ended as we moved into the late 2010s. But, the Century nameplate is far from dead. In fact, Toyota replaced the G50 with an all-new model.
The G60 rolled off the production line in 2018. The V12 was ditched in favor of a more efficient (but less spectacular) plug-in hybrid powertrain. A 375-hp 5-liter V8 was paired up with a 221-hp electric motor, producing 425 hp in total. This power is delivered to the wheels through one of Toyota’s tried and tested eCVT transmissions. Much like how the V12 in the G50 Century was chosen for its smoothness, Toyota felt that the V8 was the smoothest and most fitting engine option for the internal combustion part of a hybrid Century.
The Toyota Century SUV Ups The Practicality
These days, the Century nameplate isn’t just restricted to a traditional sedan. The Century has finally taken a big leap into the present day, and it’s now available as an SUV. The Century SUV has the same plug-in hybrid powertrain as the current Century sedan, and it has all the same luxurious features.
While enthusiasts were torn over Toyota’s deciding to make an SUV using the Century name, Toyota feels like this is the next logical step for the model. They argue that SUVs are a better type of car for being chauffeured around. With how much rear space the most luxurious SUVs have and how they’re easier to get into for many people, Toyota might have a good point.
Sources: carfromjapan.com, classic.com, Toyota
AloJapan.com