With a comparatively beneficiant quantity of floor clearance and a fastback-like silhouette, the Toyota Crown blurs the road between a sedan and a crossover. It is channeling its off-roading genes right into a special-edition mannequin known as Panorama that options rally-inspired design updates.
Unveiled for the Japanese market, the Crown Panorama appears to be like prefer it was constructed for the SEMA present. And but, examine your calendar: April Idiot’s was 4 days in the past. This is not a joke, an aftermarket tuner’s wild hallucination became a one-off, or an idea; it is apparently actual and it is headed to manufacturing. It sits about an inch greater than the regular-production Crown, and it is completed in a two-tone black and City Khaki paint job. Toyota additionally added edition-specific 18-inch wheels, all-terrain tires, and wheel arch flares hand-painted in a shade known as Gori Gori Black.
Purple mudflaps remind us of Toyota’s rally automobiles, and the Panorama comes commonplace with a hitch. It provides a most towing capability of about 1,650 kilos, so it isn’t going to tow your GR Corolla to the following observe day but it surely must be able to pulling a small camper with ease. If the 15.2-cubic-foot trunk is not large enough, Toyota provides an non-compulsory, dealer-installed roof rack that motorists can mount a storage basket to.
The adjustments made to the Panorama’s inside are extra delicate. The cabin will get black upholstery, black trim and a “Panorama” emblem on the passenger’s aspect of the dashboard. Like the usual Crown, the off-roading mannequin comes commonplace with split-folding rear seats.
It would not sound like Toyota made mechanical adjustments to the Panorama. Primarily based on the RS trim, it is powered by a gasoline-electric hybrid drivetrain that consists of a turbocharged, 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine, a pair of electrical motors (one per axle) and a nickel-metal hybride battery pack. That is essentially the most highly effective drivetrain within the Crown vary, and it spins the 4 wheels through a six-speed computerized transmission.
Pricing for the Crown Panorama begins at 6,850,000 Japanese yen, which represents about $45,300 on the present conversion fee. For context, the common Crown RS prices 6,700,000 yen (round $44,300). What does this imply for the American market? Your guess is nearly as good as ours. Requested if the Panorama is headed right here, Toyota instructed Autoblog that it will possibly’t touch upon future product plans. Wait and see, then.
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