Toyota Century

The Toyota Century is a large four-door limousine produced by Kanto Auto Works, Ltd. under contract for Toyota mainly for the Japanese market. Production of the Century began in 1967 and the model received only minor changes until a redesign in 1997. The Century derived its name from the 100 year birth anniversary of Sakichi Toyoda, the founder of Toyota Industries. The name "Century" is written as センチュリー in Japanese characters and is pronounced similar to the English word. The Century was available with only a V8 engine since its introduction in 1967 until a major redesign in 1997, and is now only available with a V12, an engine unique to the Century.

The Century is produced in limited numbers and is built in a "nearly hand-made" fashion. It is often used by royalty, government leaders, and executive businessmen. The Century is comparable in purpose to the Austin Princess, ZIS/ZIL, Chinese Red Flag, Rolls-Royce and Maybach limousines. The Toyota Century is equipped with the fender mirrors characteristic of Japanese cars.