Toyota is ready to unveil a brand new car on September 6, and a teaser picture along with earlier feedback from a senior government level to it being an SUV model of the Century flagship sedan.

The Century is a giant, boxy sedan that has spawned simply three generations over a historical past courting again greater than half a century. Restricted to a handful of choose nations, the Century is used primarily by dignitaries, together with the Emperor of Japan. Its hallmarks embody a strong engine, acres of room, and the final word in Toyota construct high quality.

A teaser picture launched by Toyota on Wednesday reveals a car with the same boxy design to the Century, although there’s clearly a tailgate current. A white gloved hand reaching to open the rear door additionally suggests the car is aimed toward patrons with a chauffeur available.

Throughout a presentation in June for the introduction of Toyota’s redesigned Alphard and Vellfire minivans, Toyota Chief Branding Officer Simon Humphries hinted {that a} new model of the Century was deliberate for a reveal later in 2023.

2018 Toyota Century

“The Century is the final word chauffeur expertise but it surely too must evolve as we transfer towards the long run,” he stated. “And later within the 12 months, I hope to have an opportunity to share the result of that story with a brand new addition to Toyota’s chauffeur collection.”

Rumors level to a Century SUV being developed on both Toyota’s TNGA-Okay platform present in autos just like the Grand Highlander and associated Lexus TX, or the automaker’s premium TNGA-L platform present in autos just like the Toyota Mirai and Lexus LS. Those self same rumors additionally level to the car being exported to a a lot wider array of markets, together with doubtlessly the U.S.

The Century sedan was final redesigned for 2018. The most recent technology is longer than a Mercedes-Benz S-Class and comes powered solely by a 5.0-liter V-8-based hybrid powertrain that sends drive to the rear wheels.