2024 Toyota Century luxury SUV teased

The flagship 2024 Toyota Century SUV has been locked in for a full unveiling on September 6 at a VIP event in Tokyo.

Posting a YouTube link for the livestream plus a single picture of a chauffeur who’s presumably primed to open the Toyota Century SUV’s rear door, we get our first glimpse of the upcoming new model that will rival cars like the Rolls Royce-Cullinan and the Mercedes-Maybach GLS.

Featuring simple surfacing and a large chrome finisher, it’s the Cullinan that designers have appeared to reference when creating the Century SUV.

The large rear D-pillar and gently falling shoulders, plus the bold LED tail-lights, continue the Rolls-Royce SUV tribute act.

The platform underpinning the SUV is still to be confirmed, but it’s a safe bet the Century will share the TNGA-K architecture found in the current Toyota Camry and Alphard people mover, rather than the more rugged TNGA-F ladder-frame used for the Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series.

The former is thought to be favoured over its more superior refinement, with the Japanese car-maker almost certain to favour comfort over off-road prowess.

Until now, the Century range has been limited to a full-size luxurious limousine that has sold largely in Japan, although it’s often seen on Australian roads as a low-volume ‘grey’ import.

It’s not known if the SUV has been created to broaden Toyota’s most prestigious nameplate in other markets.

If so, expect the Century SUV to miss out on the limo’s 317kW 5.0-litre V8 hybrid powertrain and instead go with the smaller 264kW electrified 3.5-litre V6 that’s used in the Lexus LS 500h.

A new plug-in hybrid engine might also be a possibility.

Stay tuned as more will be revealed in the coming days.

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