Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

Dongyingkuli South

author| Cao Tingting Wang Lei

Toyota's most luxurious SUV is officially released.

The brand-new Century SUV debuted in Japan. It is an SUV version of the Century sedan, also Toyota's Rolls-Royce, with a phoenix logo and a higher positioning than Land Cruiser.

Source: Toyota has a higher starting price of 25 million yen, equivalent to about 1.24 million yuan, limited to 30 units per month.

As Toyota's ultra-luxury car series, Century sedan mainly supplies the Japanese market, while Century SUV is different, Toyota chief brand officer Simon Humphries has revealed that the model plans to sell to the global market in the future.

This means that Century SUV is expected to enter the domestic market in the form of imports within next year.

If Century SUV really enters China, according to Toyota high-end car tonality, will it be another price increase king?

01."Japanese Rolls-Royce" Let's take a look at what this car looks like.

Century SUV's shape can be said to be very retro, this kind of stable luxury feeling, but very consistent with Toyota style.

Its headlights adopt a split design, the daytime running lights are divided into four groups, and the upper and lower contours of the headlights are very chronological. The new car's front air intake grille outline is relatively simple, using a three-dimensional grid decoration.

Source: Toyota has a phoenix LOGO on the front of the car. In order to reflect the dignity, the phoenix logo on each car is handmade.

Source: Toyota looks from the side, the body shape is very traditional, using two-color body design, front and rear wheel eyebrows slightly raised, there is a small wide body visual effect, in the window sideline position and side skirt, are decorated with chrome trim, multi-banner wheel hub design, let the car look more luxurious.

Source: Toyota The new car's thick D-pillar is very similar to Rolls-Royce Curry South.

At the rear of the car, the rear window is concave design, the four L-shaped lamp groups in the taillights of the new car also echo the design of the headlights. After lighting, they are very recognizable. The exhaust design of both sides still gives people a very dignified and thick feeling.

Source: Toyota model size, length, width and height are 5205/1990/1805mm respectively, wheelbase is 2950mm, vehicle weight reaches 2570kg.

For reference, Rolls-Royce Curry South has a length, width and height size of 5341mm, 2000mm, 1837mm and a wheelbase of 3295 mm.

Source: Toyota can see from the launch conference that there are two different versions of the car, which also means Toyota's new Century SUV will launch at least two models, including the basic style and GR high-performance sports version for consumers to choose from.

According to Toyota Century's positioning, the main focus is not performance, but ride comfort experience. Century SUV continues this style, interior layout is simple and atmospheric, leather material almost covers the whole car, center console and armrest box are added solid wood for decoration, rear row with independent seats, can be adjusted, each seat has independent display screen.

Source: Toyota not only that, four-frame multi-function steering wheel, LCD instrument, suspension center control screen and other designs, all add a sense of dignity to this car.

Source: Toyota While the Sport models offer GR model specific badges, blackened mesh grilles and wheels, GR models also add a large carbon fiber package.

Source: Toyota It is worth mentioning that GR high-performance models also seem to be equipped with electric sideslip doors used on previous MPVs to show their special identity.

However, based on the brand tone of the century, even the GR high-performance sports version, in order to take care of ride comfort, the overall performance should not be too exaggerated.

The new car is based on Toyota's TNHGA-K architecture, which covers mainstream models such as North American Highlander, Elfa/Wilfa, Lexus LM, TX, etc. The vehicle is also equipped with a four-wheel steering system to ensure its maneuverability.

Source: Toyota power, Century SUV will be equipped with Toyota's latest "Hybrid Max Powertrain" hybrid system, the future or will be equipped with two powertrain systems, including a 2.4T Hybrid MAX hybrid engine, its maximum power will not be less than 340 horsepower, as the basic style model powertrain.

Source: Toyota's other powertrain uses the same powertrain as the flagship TX 550h +, a hybrid assembly composed of 3.5T turbocharged engine + dual motors, a pure electric range of 69km, a comprehensive output power of 412hp, and an 8-speed automatic gearbox and a four-wheel drive system.

Source: Toyota According to the information disclosed so far, this powertrain may be carried on the GR sports version.

Who is Toyota Century? In addition to Lexus and Toyota Crown, Toyota also has a low-key and luxurious brand, which does not appear on the streets, but gives priority to "serving" the Japanese royal family, which is Toyota Century.

Toyota Century is a model launched to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Toyota Sakichi, the father of Toyota founder Kiichiro Toyoda and the great-grandfather of Akio Toyoda. Since it was also the 100th anniversary of Meiji in Japan, the two centenaries met together, and the model was also named Toyota Century.

Toyota Century is rarely exported to other countries. Because the body is hand-built, it has very little production and is given priority to the royal family and administrative personnel. It is also known as Japan's own "Rolls-Royce."

The first generation Toyota Century was born in 1967, codenamed VG20, with a very square shape, which appeared dignified and calm. In fact, since the beginning, Toyota has not made Toyota Century a fashionable and gorgeous style, but a very solemn and low-luxury style.

The first generation Toyota Century was equipped with a 3.0L displacement V8 engine, with 3-gear and 4-gear automatic transmissions to choose from. This configuration was definitely at the top level among Japanese luxury cars at that time, and the first generation Toyota Century Standard Edition reached 5120mm in length and 2860mm in wheelbase.

In 1973, Toyota updated the engine for the first generation Toyota Century, replacing the 3.0 L displacement V8 engine with a 3.4 L displacement V8 engine. Two years later, Toyota Century no longer used a manual transmission.

Toyota then continued to make changes to the first generation of Toyota Century, such as starting in 1982, the code name changed to VG40, and the engine was further expanded to 4.0L displacement. By 1990, Toyota also introduced the Type L version of Century with the code name VG45.

Thirty years after the first Toyota Century, Toyota introduced the second Toyota Century in 1997. In order to maintain its solemn image, Toyota II Century is not much different from the first generation.

Source: Toyota II Toyota Century is based on Lexus LS series. The Phoenix LOGO of the front part is also handmade. The car body is made of high-grade materials and painted with up to seven layers.

Toyota even developed a V12 engine specifically for it, and this engine is only used in this model, code-named 1GZ-FE, with a displacement of 5.0L. Smooth acceleration and quiet operation are the biggest features of this engine. It is matched with a 4-speed automatic transmission, which was upgraded to a 6-speed automatic transmission in 2005.

The second-generation Toyota Century is even more amazing in terms of space and comfort, with a body size of 5270×1890×1475mm based on the Type L version of the first-generation model, a wheelbase of 3025mm and air suspension.

In 2006, Toyota launched the Century Royal, which became the exclusive car of the Japanese emperor and royal family members. The ride space was more comfortable. The car length size had reached a terrifying 6155mm and the wheelbase was 3510mm.

The powertrain is powered by a 5.0L displacement V12 engine with a 6-speed automatic transmission. The Century Royal Edition produced a total of 4 cars, including 3 cars and a hearse.

By 2017, Toyota will launch the third generation Toyota Century, with high-end luxury in the body and interior. It is said that the production standard of paint surface is extremely high. The 7-layer coating shall be baked at least 5 times only to create the mirror version effect. The interior materials are the most expensive materials in Toyota system.

Source: Toyota In the powertrain, the V12 engine was eliminated and replaced by a more advanced oil-electric hybrid powertrain system. The internal combustion engine part was a 5.0L displacement V8 in-cylinder direct injection engine; the electric part was powered by a nickel-hydrogen battery developed by Toyota.

It can be seen that Toyota Century has always represented Toyota's highest production level, and today, many executives still admire Toyota Century.

With the arrival of the Century SUV, the market is no longer limited to Japan, but how big a market can this car have?

Let's look at the pricing first. This model with more than one million yuan is bound to be higher or even double the price of Japan after being imported into China. Corresponding to it are Maybach GLS, Red Flag LS7, and Toyota's own Lexus LX series.

Source: Toyota Although Toyota Century brand is the existence of the country's top luxury car in Japan, its popularity in the Chinese market is still relatively low. Even Toyota Century sedan, which entered the country very early years ago, is still eating old money.

In 1999, Toyota intended to introduce Toyota Century into China, but sales of the car were very low due to popularity problems at that time, and it was quickly withdrawn from China.

Source: Toyota is far inferior to German BBA in terms of user accumulation and brand influence. In luxury cars that cost nearly a million dollars, everyone is naturally more willing to choose luxury brands with higher visibility and more influence.

Source: Toyota can choose Toyota Century, it is estimated that only a small number of very rich and low-key people. Of course, the Century SUV will still have a following, based on Toyota's early popularity.

However, for the domestic market, the sales volume of Japanese brands itself is declining. In addition, under the impact of new forces and independent automobile enterprises, the belief value of domestic consumers on the old cars is constantly decreasing, which makes the Japanese brands in an awkward situation even more optimistic.

A realistic question, if you have money, buy BYD's U8 or Toyota Century SUV?

This article comes from Weixin Official Accounts: SuperEV-Lab (ID: SuperEV-Lab), author: Wang Lei Cao Tingting

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