About a year ago, Toyota slapped its most prestigious moniker on an SUV by creating a high-riding Century . When the luxobarge debuted, we immediately noticed an interesting Gazoo Racing-badged variant that had minivan-esque sliding rear doors. It was actually a fully fledged GRMN built as a one-off.
Well, not for long. During a trip to China to chat with Century SUV owners, Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda said there's only one GRMN-spec out there. He has the privilege of owning it, which is the same we can say about the rad Century GRMN sedan we saw a few years ago.
The difference between the two is that the SUV is going into production so "that many people from around the world can ride." Based on the TNGA platform, the regular Century SUV is offered with a plug-in hybrid V-6 setup making 406 hp. It’s unclear whether the Gazoo Racing Masters of the Nürburgring variant will get a big ol' V-8 like the previous-generation Century sedan offered.
The one before it was the only Toyota in history to be offered with a V-12 but we can't imagine it coming back ever again. We are expecting the hotter Century SUV GRMN to pack a greater punch since Akio Toyoda labeled it a full-fat GRMN. Toyota sells certain cars around the world with GR Sport badging but those are mostly limited to cosmetic tweaks and a minor suspension revision.
More substantial upgrades are reserved for the GR cars, such as the GR Yaris and GR Corolla hot hatches. At the top of the food chain, the GRMN models have al.