Toyota Updates JDM Crown Sedan to Celebrate 60th Birthday

First introduced way back in 1955, Toyota's flagship domestic model celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. To mark the occasion and prepare it for its seventh decade of production, the Japanese automaker has treated the Crown to a mid-cycle update.

A range of updates distinguish the face-lifted Toyota Crown. It benefits from a new direct-injection turbo engine, a host of new color choices, and a new suite of electronic systems. Available in an assortment of trim levels, most of the improvements have been visited on the Athlete and Royal models, but the Majesta also gets some revisions. The Crown Athlete, for example, gets a mesh grille extending deep into the bumper, flanked by LED headlamps and larger tail lights. The Athlete's interior gets new trim, too. Meanwhile the updated Crown Royal – not to be confused with the Canadian whiskey of the same name – gets a horizontal chrome grille treatment, with new fog lamps and a wood-trimmed interior.

The 2.0-liter turbo four has been tuned for low- and medium-range punch, with a twin-scroll turbocharger fed by adaptive intake cooling and intelligent variable valve timing. There are 2.5- and 3.5-liter naturally aspirated engines as well as a hybrid option, available in rear- or all-wheel drive, and channeled through 6- or 8-speed automatic transmissions. Finally there's an array of new technologies packed inside the new Crown, including right-turn collision, warning, red-light, and traffic signal warning systems, along with radar-enabled cruise control, emergency vehicle warning, blind-spot monitor and intelligent parking assist.