Tomica 1:70 Toyota Century, Black

The Toyota Century is a large four-door limousine produced mainly for the Japanese market, serving as Toyota's flagship car within Japan; globally the unrelated Lexus LS series is Toyota's flagship luxury model outside Japan. 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 100th birthday of Sakichi Toyoda (born 14 February 1867), the founder of Toyota Industries. It is often used by the Imperial House of Japan, the Prime Minister of Japan, senior Japanese government leaders, and high-level executive businessmen. The Century is comparable in purpose to the Austin Princess/Daimler DS420, Cadillac Series 70, Mercedes-Benz 600, Chinese Red Flag, Rolls-Royce, and Russian ZIS/ZIL limousines. The first-generation Century was available with only a V8 engine, the third Japanese-built sedan post-war, at its introduction in 1967 until a full platform redesign in 1997. The second generation was only installed with a Toyota-designed and -built V12, an engine unique to the Century, until 2018, when the power-train was reverted to a V8 with the addition of Toyota's hybrid technology. While the Century is a premium, full-size luxury sedan, it is not available at Japanese Lexus dealerships; it can only be purchased at specifically identified Toyota Store locations. The bird logo used throughout is called the Hō'ō (鳳凰) or Fushichō from Asian mythology, representing the Imperial House of Japan, and the image can be found throughout Asia, such as the Kinkaku-ji in Kyoto.

The exterior styling of the Century has, with some modifications, remained unchanged since its introduction, primarily due to its perception as denoting conservative success. Its appearance is iconic in Asian countries and is usually painted black. The closest Japanese competitor was the Nissan President, with a similar status reputation although, during the 1960s and '70s, the high market positioning was also shared with the Mitsubishi Debonair. Other Japanese competitors introduced large sedans—the Isuzu Statesman de Ville and the Mazda Roadpacer (derived from General Motors-Australia products)—which were short-lived.

The Century was Toyota's most luxurious model at its inception in 1967, and maintained this status throughout the 20th century. Today, it was positioned above the Lexus line-up, and remained the most luxurious and prestigious model to wear the Toyota badge. The Century shared the role of flagship with the Toyota Crown Majesta with almost identical dimensions to the Century but with a more modern approach and appearance that appealed to younger buyers, and both vehicles were exclusive to the Toyota Store dealership network in Japan. This generation no longer offered the ability to select which level of equipment preferred, designated as the D-Type, E-Type and the extended length L-Type of the previous generation, and changed to offering either a floor-mounted or column-mounted transmission selector From 2003 through 2004, the V12 engine was briefly offered the ability to use CNG fuel. On the "C" pillar there is a badge in blue with a gothic-style "C" for Century with a label "V12" below.

Like other cars in the top of the luxury class, the Century is designed with the rear passengers in mind. Hence, the rear seats recline and the front passenger seat has a fold-down center section so that a passenger in the back may stretch his feet forward. The rear seats are equipped with a massage system. The exterior door handles open the doors electrically since the sound of the door being opened mechanically is perceived as being "too obtrusive". The doors do not need to be closed directly, instead the door only needs to contact the latch, causing the door to pull itself completely closed electrically.