“Today marks a special moment for a car at the very pinnacle of the Toyota portfolio. Century is a singular automobile representing the height of Japanese sensibilities. Born as the pride of Toyota, Century has become the pride of Japan. It takes a nation to build a Century. And that nation is changing. But to understand the future, we must first understand the past. Every great product is created by great people,” said Simon Humphries, of the Toyota Board of Directors at the premier.

Given its history and now its formidable global sales potential as a chauffeur-driven or personally driven luxury vehicle for politicians, rock stars, athletes and even royalty, Century is potentially a breakthrough product. These are people who need to work, and need to rest. Their entrance and exit from an event is often under intense public scrutiny and debate. This will give global automakers – notably the British, Germans and US based ones – a serious challenge to their hegemony in this exclusive domain.