We knew Century was going to become its own marque separate from Toyota, but now it’s official as official can be. A new Century showroom has opened in Tokyo. To drive the point home, the inaugural window display has a classic 1967 Century sedan and the new Century Coupe.
Called the Century Studio, it’s sits in its own corner of the Lexus Aoyama dealership. Located along National Route 246, it’s just a couple of blocks from the former Honda headquarters building that you may have raced past in Gran Turismo 4. Not surprisingly, the area is one of the wealthiest in Tokyo. Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda was among the first visitors.
Here’s a photo I took while trying to juggle my phone, my mamachari handlebars, and the mirrored traffic rules in my head at that exact location in 2013. Notice the prominent Lexus branding on the building on the right.
This is how the building looks now. The Lexus logo has been removed from the siding. For what it’s worth, this Google Maps image was snapped in 2023, though the logo was still present in October 2022. That’s where the Century Studio now stands.
The interior has been completely transformed from its previous look. Ambient lighting and warm wood motifs have replaced the bright white gallery that once displayed Lexus vehicles. A big indigo shippo-tsunagi banner emphasizes the Japanese craftsmanship that goes into Century cars.
Back in 2020, Toyota consolidated its labyrinthine network of dealerships under a single banner, leaving only two types of dealerships in Japan, Toyota and Lexus. Now it looks like Toyota is expanding again, with Toyota, Lexus, Gazoo Racing, and now Century showrooms providing different cars and dealership experiences.
Images: Toyota, Century, Google Maps
It hurts me to say this, but the new Century Coupe is… butt ugly.
Hope your mamachari was electric. That’s a long climbing hill westbound from Akasaka!
It wasn’t but I don’t remember the elevation changes. I think I was too busy trying not to get killed/in anyone’s way.
+225′ in a manual mamachari👍
I couldn’t agree more Toyotageek. It’s hideous. Why does every car have to look like it’s ready for the Paris~Dakar Rally???
That thing is just screaming “LOOK AT ME…LOOK AT ME”!!!
A proper luxury car should quietly say…”I have arrived”.
Car makers take a pretty big risk by putting old, beloved versions of their cars next to new, controversial ones. For something like the Century, it seems like the better move would have been to not call out the past since the new one is such a departure – especially in this case since it was such a long running and staid design.
Toyota has completely eschewed the traditional Century market of conservative older wealth to try to appeal to young money. Only time will tell how that works out, but I think young people in Japan recognized what the Century was and it was still an aspirational icon. They could still buy something flashy and also own a traditional Century. At the end of the day I’m not sure who this vehicle will appeal to.