It is in Japan and America that the new Toyota Crown retained its native brand. In China, a separate brand was recently introduced Crown, which in the corporate hierarchy is located between the brands Toyota and Lexus. The first model was the elevated cross-sedan Crown SportCross: its local premiere took place at the Guangzhou Motor Show, and prices were announced here (from 53 thousand dollars). And at the same time, the Japanese for the first time showed live the future four-door Crown Sedan.
This is the true heir to the Crown dynasty, the bearer of family DNA and the continuer of traditions. After all, if the Crown SportCross has a transverse engine and the main front-wheel drive, then the Crown Sedan is a GA-L platform with a classic layout (with a longitudinal engine and rear-wheel drive) and noble proportions with a cabin shifted back. In the sixteenth generation of Crowns, only the sedan will have this design: announced in the summer, the station wagon and the SUV will share the “transverse” platform with the cross-sedan.
At the exhibition in Guangzhou, Toyota showed the sedan live for the first time, but this is not a real car, but only a full-size mockup on real wheels. It has no interior or even suspension, and the bottom is made smooth. But the appearance of the car is already finalized. And, judging by the shape and proportions of the body, the new Crown Sedan will be widely unified with the hydrogen model. Toyota Miraiwhich is also built on the GA-L platform.
Toyota has yet to release powertrain information, but it’s not hard to guess that the Crown Sedan will be a hybrid. Versions with four-cylinder gasoline engines will definitely appear, V6 engines are in question. And of course, such a Crown will be noticeably more expensive than a cross-sedan. It remains to wait for the debut of the production car, which is scheduled for 2023.