Toyota announced that a luxurious, chauffeur-driven, high-riding vehicle was in the works back in June, sparking rumors that a Toyota Century SUV would soon be joining the iconic Japanese sedan. This is now confirmed, as the automaker released a teaser image of a vehicle displaying the characteristics above Wednesday morning.
As is typical with these teasers, no other information was shared, with the announcement only claiming that “Toyota Motor Corporation will hold a new car presentation on September 6 via its YouTube channel.”
The image shared speaks a thousand words, however, showing a rather large and tall vehicle dressed in black. The light signature shown in the taillights is similar to that of the Century sedan, and to really drive the concept home there’s a glove-wearing hand reaching for the door handle. Chauffeur? I think so.
This upcoming SUV has been teased as a sort of “budget Rolls-Royce Cullinan,” though we don’t know enough about it to really uphold that idea. However, it’s rumored that the Century SUV will be based on the new Toyota Grand Highlander platform in order to provide that spacious, executive jet-like feeling. It’s also likely that it’ll be propelled by one of Toyota’s latest electrified drivetrains, meaning the chances of the Century SUV having a V8 or V12 are minimal. Still, the Century has long been the choice of Japanese royalty, C-suite executives and organized crime bosses, so Toyota expanding the nameplate with an SUV model marks quite a momentous occasion, not to mention a sign of the times.
We won’t know the details for sure until Sept. 6 at 13:30 local time, which translates to 12:30 a.m. EST. If you’re willing to stay up late, you can watch the live reveal here.
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