Nearly 70 years after the initial vehicle went on sale, the Toyota nameplate for passenger automobiles, which was also the brand’s first to be exported to the United States, is ready to enter its 16th generation.

It will forgo the standard sedan body form in favour of something resembling a high-riding fastback. Even the Japanese manufacturer rhetorically queries if the new Crown is a sedan or an SUV on its dedicated website.

The updated model is anticipated to arrive in the United States in the summer of 2023, most likely as 2024MY. The world premiere is scheduled for July 15. It’s important to note that Toyota already increased the Crown lineup by launching the nameplate in China. It is utilised for premium versions of the Highlander SUV and Vellfire minivan rather than specific models.

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If the low-volume Century, which has a special status in the lineup and is only offered to VIPs, is excluded, the Crown has historically been Toyota’s flagship vehicle in its native Japan. Since sedans have lost favour in the Land of the Rising Sun, the next-generation vehicle will not resemble the current one at all, according to patent images.

According to a recent report (connected to those patent images), the new model will measure 4,930 millimetres (194 inches) in length, 1,840 millimetres (72.4 inches) in width, and 1,540 millimetres (60.6 inches) in height.

According to reports, the wheelbase is 2,850 mm (112.2 in) long, and the platform may be Toyota’s TNGA-K. There are plans for hybrid and plug-in hybrid drivetrains, as well as two- and four-wheel-drive versions.

The company’s most costly vehicle in the lineup is expected to be the US-bound sedan/SUV, which is expected to cost around Rs11,428,488 ($50,000) before extras. A wholly electric derivative is anticipated for later in the product’s life cycle, according to sources familiar with the situation, but it’s not clear if the EV would be sold in North America.

Reuters reported in April that Toyota planned to modernise the Crown sedan, retain it on the market in its home country alongside this new model, and make both of them in Japan.