Toyota Crown First Teaser Confirms Those Patent Images Were Legit

Rumors of a SUV-ified Toyota Crown first emerged in November 2020 but it wasn't until April 2021 when the Crown Kluger debuted in China as a fancy Highlander. Because nothing is sacred anymore, the Vellfire minivan also got the Crown treatment in the People's Republic last year. The namesake sedan is still around at home in Japan, and yet a different take on the long-running moniker is about to break cover.

Ahead of its premiere locked in for July 15, the new Crown reveals a good chunk of its design in the first proper teaser image. The official preview comes to confirm what the patent images have been showing all along – a fresh take on the longest-running nameplate of a Toyota passenger car. One interesting detail we notice is the use of a front LED light bar to create what we'd like to refer to as the automotive equivalent of a unibrow.

More design secrets should be unlocked in the coming days in the build-up to the big debut. The new Crown certainly won't be a sedan, but it's not going to be a regular SUV either. Instead, Toyota is seemingly going for a high-riding fastback silhouette. It remains to be seen whether it'll have a trunk lid or a more practical liftgate.

If recent reports are to be believed, this is going to be an imposingly large car, stretching at 4,930 millimeters (194 inches) long, 1,840 mm (72.4 in) wide, and 1,540 mm (60.6 in) tall, with a wheelbase measuring 2,850 mm (112.2 in). It's said to ride on the TNGA-K platform and come with hybrid and plug-in hybrid powertrains, with a pure electric derivative also in the pipeline.

Despite dwindling sales, the regular sedan will apparently continue to be offered in Japan. As for the new member, rumors say it's coming to the United States where it might carry the highest starting price of all Toyotas. How much? In the $50,000 range is what we're hearing, with front- and all-wheel-drive setups planned. A FWD configuration would be a major departure for what has traditionally been a RWD car for man decades.

Those patent images revealed an interesting detail by showing the car with a dedicated Crown badge at the front but the usual Toyota logo at the back. With Toyota USA bidding adieu to the Avalon after the 2022 model year, the new Crown could indirectly replace the similarly long and wide (but lower) sedan.