VIP Toyota Century Scoops AF Sponsors Choice at Tucked

Aside from the selection of jaw-dropping showstoppers that turn up every single time, there’s two other things that we love best about the events laid on by the guys at Tucked Automotive. First, we always get to show our support by getting our AirStream Land Yacht mobile store packed to the gills with top detailing products to give you showgoers the best deals of the day. And second, we get to work with Tucked as one of the headline sponsors, too. Tucked At The Museum this year was no exception.

Taking place at the legendary British Motor Museum (hence the name of the show, get it?) we made sure that TeamAF was out in force, bringing along a whole load of display cars, plenty of our pro detailers to offer trade tips and advice, and we even produced our own collab product with Tucked to celebrate. As expected, our special limited-edition Show Field Shine Finishing Spray went down a storm.

But while this unbelievably laid-back show was a proper vibe, the cars on display were epic and our stand was rammed all day, there was of course, one other important task for TeamAF while we were there…

Yes, you guessed it, we were there to judge our coveted Sponsors Choice Award, and of course, there was quite the selection of amazing showcars to choose from. After much deliberation though we went for one of the shining stars of the show, not to mention the kind of luxury barge you just don’t see every day here in Europe – Phil Cheyne’s G50 Toyota Century.

So, what’s so special about the 2nd Gen Toyota Century? Well, even as standard this car is something of a weapon. Over 20 years of production (1997-2017) Toyota made only around 9500. They’re rare, silly expensive, the choice of businessmen, government officials and top-tier gangsters all around Asia, and even the Emperor of Japan himself has 4 armoured ‘Century Royal’ versions as his official state cars… 3 saloons and a hearse, just in case you were wondering.

As you can imagine, the ‘Japanese Rolls Royce’ comes with all sorts of crazy features – heated and cooled seats, TVs, business tape recorders, air suspension, soft close doors, personal ashtrays for every occupant, the works. The front passenger seat also has a fold away panel so the bloke in the back can stretch is feet out through the middle because… well, obviously this car is all about the bloke in the back.

What the 2nd Generation Century is most known for though, is the engine. Under the bonnet you’ll find the only ever V12 to come out of Japan in a front-engine production car. The 1GZ-FE is factory tuned to around 300bhp to quietly waft about the place in a business-like fashion, and famously runs so smooth that you can balance a pound coin on its edge on top without it toppling over.

That’s the luxurious way to travel of course, but let’s just say that the big 5-litre is capable of a little bit more. One of Japan’s most famous tuner cars - the legendary 220mph Top Secret Supra – was running the V12 from a Century, albeit with HKS turbos and over 900bhp.

So, the V12 Century is the epitome of a VIP car, but Phil’s one is even more VIP… you might say that this one takes the luxury excess to the next level. This car is all about the details, not only is it immaculate inside and out, but there’s plenty of custom touches that add to the VIP status – custom curtains, doilys, crystal whiskey glasses – it’s all very Japanese.

One of the biggest changes though, was getting the chassis sorted by swapping out the painfully slow factory air suspension for an Air Lift Performance setup, time is money, right? And then there’s the wheels. The OZ Racing Scara Gen1s are even rarer than the car itself, especially with custom floating centre caps and studded gold hardware sporting 160 Swarovski crystals. Yes, up close the details are exactly as mad as they sound.

And you can see why that’s the rather epic car we picked for our Sponsors Choice Award at Tucked At The Museum 2024. We think you’ll agree it’s a trophy that’s well deserved. Well done to Phil, and thanks for showing us something completely out of the ordinary.

We’ll see you at the next Tucked event, so keep an eye on the official Tucked Automotive site for details of upcoming shows. And in the meantime be sure to check out the Behind The Scenes section of our Blog for more news, show reports and other action from the world of Team AF.