2018 Toyota Crown Shows Redesigned Body And A New Hybrid Powertrain

Toyota’s overseas flagship sedan has been caught on the Nurburgring while it was testing its new suit and engine. Even though it’s using the Nurburgring, the 2018 Toyota Crown won’t be available in Europe or North America. No, the domestic four-door sedan will continue to be Toyota’s flagship for the Asian car market.

The prototype we see uses plenty of camouflage, so we can’t really tell what’s new. However, it’s quite clear that the salon might get the same front end as the new generation Camry. Well, not completely identical, but the bumper and headlights seem to be identical, while the grille appears to have more mesh. It’s pretty much the same story in the rear. Both, the taillights and bumper are almost identical to Camry’s and so is the exhaust layout.

Judging by the sound the prototype had made, we can conclude it’s using a hybrid powertrain. Moreover, we can swear that we heard something like this already. As far as we think, it might be Toyota’s latest Multi-Stage Hybrid System. Yes, the same one that currently powers the Lexus LS 500h. If this proves to be true, then you can expect the new generation 2018 Toyota Crown with a hybrid system that combines a 3.5-liter V6 petrol engine with a pair of electric motors, which are connected with a 310 V lithium-ion battery. This terrific system is capable of delivering 354 horsepower, which powers all four wheels via a 10-speed transmission (it’s actually a CVT plus four-speed automatic). By using this powertrain, the 2018 Crown will be able to hit 100 km/h in just 5.4 seconds.

The totally redesigned 2018 Toyota Crown will become available early next year.