THE FIRST CENTURY

Back in 1967, Toyota launched the Century as a reaction to the Nissan President, which made its debut in 1965 as a possible candidate for use by the Imperial Household Agency of Japan. The President was a reaction to the 1964 Toyota Crown 8, a large, 2.6-liter V-8-powered four-door built to stop the use of foreign (i.e., American) luxury sedans.

The first Century was based on the Crown 8, the original car launched. No matter, as the first-gen Century stayed in production for another decade and a half—finally getting replaced by a V-12 in the second generation, which made its debut in 1997.