Toyota Century V12 With Just 26,000 Miles Surfaces at Auction as Ultra-Rare Luxury Sedan

Japan’s Rolls-Royce

Long before Lexus, Toyota was already building a series of premium and luxury vehicles, albeit for its home market for the most part. The Crown is one of those models, as well as the smaller Mark II, that the rest of the world knows better as the Cressida. But at the very top is the Century, the crown jewel of Aichi.

The Century made was built to commemorate the 100th birthday of Toyota Industries founder, Sakichi Toyoda. Revealed in 1967, the car has since become associated with royalty, politics, and anything related to industrial and business powerhouses. The nameplate has been around for nearly 60 years, but it has only seen three all-new generations since then.

A Low-Mile Piece of Japanese Automotive Royalty

Given that the Century is built in low volumes each year, there aren’t many of these that end up in the used car market outside Japan. Factor in the 25-year import rule, and let’s just say that there isn’t a steady stream of these luxury limousines making it abroad. Still, some of the few that end up here are snapped up fairly quickly, which brings us to today’s auction find from Bring a Trailer.

What we have here is a 1997 model, so it’s the first year of the second-generation version. This one should be of interest for those who think eight cylinders aren’t enough, as what you’re looking at here packs a 5.0-liter V12 – the sole option you can get for this era of Century. It’s low-mileage, too, as the odometer reads just 43,864 kilometers at the time of posting. In freedom units, that’s a mere 26,634, so it’s not even broken in by Toyota standards.

A good amount of work went into this car, too. Given its age, it was best to replace key components of the air suspension and braking system. As far as we can tell, the engine has a clean bill of health. Aftermarket bits include rear curtains and an exhaust system from Junction Produce. At the time of writing, the current bid is at $16,666.

The Toyota Century: What You Need to Know

The second-generation Century was built from 1997 to 2017, a remarkable production run that spanned 20 years. That said, its predecessor lasted for 30 years with few changes. The first-generation model packed a V8 engine, while the second upped the ante with Japan’s only V12 to ever reach production. As for the current model, it reverts to a V8, but it’s been given an electrified boost.

The V12 in this model makes a rather conservative 276 hp, although that’s because of Japan’s gentlemen’s agreement among automakers not to exceed that number, at least on paper. Export versions of the second-generation Century have a higher figure listed at 295 hp. Exterior and interior-wise, this version of the Century remained relatively unchanged, although an update in 2005 ditched the four-speed automatic for a six-speed unit, and other in-car entertainment upgrades were made later on in the model’s life.

Toyota produced fewer than 10,000 second-gen Century sedans over 20 years. Of the 9,753 built, about 100 were left-hand drive, some of which made it to the U.S. Of course, the Century nameplate has since expanded to include the inevitable SUV version, but it’s also become a standalone brand. The Century brand will sit above Lexus and serve as Toyota’s ultra-luxury arm, taking aim at Bentley and Rolls-Royce with a coupe reportedly in the works.