The collector car market, in your inbox
Classic car news, hand-picked vehicles, and auction coverage. Choose what lands in your inbox.
Toyota built exactly one production V12, and it put it in a chauffeur car that Americans were never supposed to see. That's the second-generation Century, and this 2000 Toyota Century on Bring a Trailer is worth a look for one reason: it has the Dual Electro Multi-Vision package, a factory option that put touchscreens in the dash and in the back seat before most people owned a cell phone with a color screen. The auction is no reserve and ends Saturday, October 31 at 2:39 p.m. ET. The bid sat at $2,000 when we checked.
What the Dual EMV Package Actually Was
Think of it as Toyota's first run at infotainment. When the G50 Century launched in Japan in April 1997, the dual EMV trim bundled GPS voice navigation, a CD player, television, and FM text broadcasting. The "dual" part is the point. Per the listing, the package added front and rear touch-screen displays, and the rear passengers get their own controls for audio, climate, and the passenger seat. This car has a centrally mounted rear EMV screen, so the person behind the driver has a display of their own.
The name wasn't new in 1997. Toyota introduced Electro Multi-Vision on the first-generation Soarer in 1985, with a 6-inch CRT in the instrument panel that showed engine data, fuel economy trends, and warnings. It could also pull in Japanese TV through antennas in the rear fenders, but only with the parking brake set and the shifter in Park or Neutral. It was a roughly $800 option, and Toyota billed it as the first system of its kind in a mass-production car. Buick had a CRT touchscreen of its own on the 1986 Riviera, then reused the idea in the Reatta and Toronado before GM dropped it. Toyota just kept going with its version.
Why the Century Needed It
The Century is built for people who get driven. Under the hood is a 5.0-liter 1GZ-FE V12 rated around 280 PS in Japan, with 339 lb-ft of torque, and it's the first and only Japanese front-engine, rear-drive production V12. The car rides on electronically controlled air suspension. The rear seats recline and have a massage function, and this one adds a heated rear bench. Owners have included senior executives and government officials, and the Century is the usual ride for Japan's Prime Minister. Put the customer in the back, and the screens make sense. They run the climate and audio, and they watch TV, while somebody else does the driving.
Why It Disappeared
Toyota made dual EMV with DVD navigation standard in a January 2005 update, so the option stopped being an option. The second-generation Century then ended production in February 2017, after almost 20 years. Smartphones and modern infotainment made screens in every seat ordinary, and a 1990s touchscreen became a curiosity. The rarity here comes from the car as much as the feature. The G50 was the only Century generation Toyota officially exported, in a run of about 100 left-hand-drive cars starting in late 1998. A right-hand-drive example like this one reaches the U.S. only through the 25-year import rule.
The Car and the Fine Print
This Century shows 256k kilometers (about 159k miles) and is finished in white over gray leather. It was factory black and was repainted white under previous ownership in Japan. The selling dealer, Capitaljdm in Temple Hills, Maryland, imported it in September 2026 and is offering it with a clean Maryland title. Inside you'll find heated power front seats, a front passenger pass-through, rear privacy curtains, woodgrain trim, and a front cassette stereo. Per the seller, the brake master cylinder was replaced for the sale, and the timing belt, water pump, and battery reportedly were changed before export.
Now the caveats. The mileage is high, the paint isn't original, and the rear CD head unit is aftermarket. A V12 that only ever went into one car won't be a quick parts run, either. Ask the seller in the comments how the screens and navigation behave, because Japanese maps and TV tuners are unlikely to do much in Maryland. If you want a V12 sedan with a more familiar badge, the BMW L7 and the Mercedes S65 AMG are easier to live with. For another Toyota that took the long way into the country, see this imported 2000 Mark II Grande IR-V Turbo.
Would you bid on a Japanese limousine for the back-seat touchscreen alone, or does the V12 do the talking?
