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Toyota Unveils Roofless Century SUV That Will Be Used For Victory Ride Of Sumo Champions
Toyota unveils “sumofied” Century SUV that will be used for the victory ride of the winner of this year’s sumo tournament.
It is a roofless version of Century SUV that first made its first public appearance last year at the 2023 Tokyo motor show.
Unlike the base car, this custom Century SUV features reinforced suspension springs to handle the weight of two sumo wrestlers.
Toyota has unveiled an open-top version of its top-of-the-line Century SUV that first made its first public appearance last year at the 2023 Tokyo motor show and aimed at “young people and those who previously felt the sedan wasn’t for them”.
Unveiled by Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda on Saturday at Tokyo’s Ryogoku Kokugikan, this roofless Century SUV will be used to chauffeur the winners of the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament during their victory rides.
Unlike the base car, this custom Century SUV features reinforced suspension springs to handle the weight of two sumo wrestlers. In addition, the roofless vehicle has raised rear seats and lacks lifting roof and pillars, a feature seen in Convertible cars.
Akio Toyoda, who started the development of the “sumofied” Century last year at the request of former yokozuna Hakuho, now stablemaster Miyagino, said “i’m grateful that the Century was chosen as the car that only the champion can ride in”.
According to reports, the roofless Toyota Century SUV was created to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Sumo in 2025. The new Japan Sumo Association’s official parade vehicle for the new champions replaces the Toyota Crown.
The new roofless victory parade vehicle likely retains the Toyota Century SUV’s 3.5-liter V6 plug-in hybrid powertrain, which produces a combined output power of 406-horsepower.
This roofless Century SUV is likely a one-off, but Toyota has promised that the Century will also be available in the Convertible variant, a GRMN-badged performance-oriented luxury model as well as one-of-a-kind versions upon request.
