The Toyota Crown is an automobile produced by Toyota in Japan since 1955. The Twelfth generation S180 model of the Crown was released in 2003.
The Royal Saloon is the base model, the Athlete is the slightly sportier version, and the Crown Majesta is the top-spec luxury model with a V8 4.3L engine.
Compared with the previous model, this model was increased by 70 mm (2.8 in) in the wheelbase and 15 mm (0.6 in) in body width. These changes gave it the largest interior size among its contemporaries, more than the Mercedes-Benz S-Class or BMW 7 Series.
The car was completely redesigned from scratch. The platform and all major components, including the engine and the suspension, were new.
The engine was changed to a V6 for the new Royal and Athlete models. The new engines gave more performance while also giving better fuel economy.
A larger engine was mated to a 6-speed sequential shift magic Super ECT transmission, while the 2.5-liter model received a 5-speed Super ECT. With the engine choice, buyers could either opt for a rear-wheel drive setup or an electronically controlled permanent four-wheel drive configuration.