[Pacific Auto Network, Culture Channel] As the first independently named car series under Toyota and one of the oldest car series, the Crown has a high reputation in various regions. In the past half century, the Crown has really carried too much wonderful history. At the same time, it is also a frequent guest in film and television works, incarnating as a "movie star" to shuttle through the joys and sorrows of the light and shadow screen. Next, the editor will take you back to the 1950s and take a look at the history of the Crown, see which famous films the Crown participated in, and see if the plot will evoke your movie-watching memories?
Back in the distant 1950s, the Asian film industry flourished like never before, and both aesthetics and themes began to bloom. In our country, Hong Kong, the Shaw Brothers and Dianmao Company competed fiercely; in the East and the Pacific, the revival of literary films and works describing social issues flourished. During this period, famous directors such as Akira Kurosawa and Yasujiro Ozu also produced a large number of well-known masterpieces.
As cars gradually enter the lives of the general public, a large number of films depicting urban reality have emerged, so you will find an elegant and refined car often appearing in the camera, shuttling through the streets and the main character’s story line, and it is the original Toyota Crown.
How high was the exposure rate of the original Crown? In the 1950s and 1970s, it appeared in at least 600 films, almost growing up with the development history of postwar East Asian films. The Crown of that year took on far more important tasks than in the film. As the first model that truly represents Japan’s independent research and development, Toyota injected many innovative designs into it. For example, to make it easier for rear passengers to get up and down, it adopted a closed door; the front suspension was replaced by a freestanding model pioneered in Japan. At this time, the crown was crowned with the logo of Toyopet, which literally translates as "Toyota’s Beloved".
After the launch of the first-generation Crown, the market performance exceeded Toyota’s expectations. Not only was it very popular in China, but also went to Europe and the United States. Therefore, Toyota did not hesitate to put the Crown in the position of the flagship of the group, making it the "pillar" of the Toyota family.
When it comes to the 007 series of movies, I believe everyone knows that, in addition to the dashing James Bond and the graceful Bond girls, the most impressive thing is the design of the amazing car chase scene, but you must know that the car protagonist is by no means unique. In 1967’s "007 Thunderbolt Valley", the second generation Toyota Crown and the 2000GT sports car launched a chase war on the streets of Tokyo, and was included in one of the top ten classic scenes in the history of 007.
In the film, when 007 left Osato Chemical Company, four of the boss’s confidants chased him out in a Toyota Crown and tried to shoot him from the car. At this time, a Toyota 2000GT came to the rescue of 007 at high speed, driving the secret agent beautiful woman Aki, a road chase began, bullets, the crown chased the 2000GT… At this time, a helicopter appeared in the sky, with a huge magnet, the crown was sucked up to the sky, 007 and beautiful woman Aki survived and drove away. This is a typical 007 plot, and the imaginative picture of the helicopter and the crown shook the world, and it is logical to be selected as one of the top ten classic shots in the history of 007.
Back then, the crew chose the Crown as a big group car and launched a chase war, not just because it was a luxury car. The second-generation Crown, born in 1962, was developed during the "Iwado boom" and the highway boom, so the positioning of the new Crown must be spacious, luxurious and comfortable.
Mechanically, the second-generation model was equipped with the first "X-type" chassis to improve driving stability, as well as cutting-edge technologies such as the M series straight six and the Toyotglide later stage. In the later stage, there was even a high-performance version of the CROWN S with higher power output. Of course, it was also the first large-scale sports sedan made in Japan.
Toyota has added a lot of features to the crown one after another, but it has not increased the price. In the follow-up version of this car, electronic locks, air conditioners, electric windows, refrigerators, etc. have been added as standard equipment, which is full of sincerity.
The second-generation crown further established the crown’s status as the flagship of the car series, describing the car in 1966 in Modern Car magazine: "The crown, which is extremely quiet and smooth to drive, makes the driving feel like the tire is running over the velvet." With such a high evaluation, it is no wonder that it has become popular in film history.
Crown was also the first Toyota to be exported to China. After the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Japan in 1972, Premier Zhou personally participated in the negotiations the following year, introducing 200 fourth-generation models and then assigning them to the reception of the Canton Fair. Since then, Crown has officially entered the land of China.
However, if the crown really became popular in China, it had to start from the seventh generation of the crown after the 1980s. Riding on the spring breeze of reform and opening up, the seventh and eighth generation crowns became household names, and naturally became one of the most common props in domestic films at that time. Just like in the 1950s, they continued to incarnate as "movie stars".
(Crown figure in domestic films in the 1980s)
The Seventh Generation Crown (1983-1987)
The Eighth Generation Crown (1987-1991)
The Eighth Generation Crown (released in 1991)
The 10th generation of the Crown (1995-1999)
As the big IP of the Spring Festival file, the "Detective Chinatown" series has received countless attention since the first one in 2015. This year’s "Detective Chinatown 3" has won 3.562 billion yuan to lead the Spring Festival box office. In the latest one, the theme city has come to Tokyo from Bangkok and New York before, and the prop car in the film naturally has a bunch of familiar faces, including a number of crown sedan series.
In the movie, the Crown, in addition to its duty as a police car, is also the car that Liu Haoran and Wang Baoqiang drive through the streets of Tokyo – the 12th-generation Crown that we are all quite familiar with, and it is also a Royal Saloon model that is almost identical to the domestic version.
When it comes to the 12th-generation Crown, it was introduced into China as early as 2005, which was the first time in the history of the Crown that it was produced in a country other than Japan. It is worth mentioning that this generation of the Crown focuses on the concept of "Zero Crown". From design to mechanics, it abandons the constraints of the past to create a younger Crown sedan, but the only constant is its unique oriental luxury philosophy.
The 12th-generation Crown body shape retained the classic flavor while still maintaining full and rich texture, and it was also as low as an astonishing 0.27. In addition, more cutting-edge new equipment of the time was used, such as the first G-BOOK and, as well as smart keys, color displays with navigation and reversing images, etc., and even the world’s first to reduce pedestrian injuries. The power aspect has also been completely revamped, and the GR series V6 engine with a new structure and dual VVT-i intake and exhaust has not only improved the power output of the Crown to the next level, but also significantly improved vibration control, fuel consumption and emissions.
Thanks to the "Crown Complex" accumulated by early imports into China, the domestic 12th-generation Crown surpassed the sales of 2,992 units in the first month of listing, becoming the best-selling mid-to-high-end luxury car in the Chinese market. In the following two months, the order volume of the 12th-generation Crown exceeded 10,000 units. By the end of 2006, the sales volume of the Crown exceeded 60,000 units, accounting for more than 30% of the high-end car market.
Detective Conan Episode 471
The 12th-generation Crown is still the darling of film and television works, whether it is the well-known animation "Detective Conan" to the action suspense film "Hunt" (2017) directed by John Woo, you can see its handsome figure.
The movie "The Hunt" (2017)
In 2021, the "Crown" car series has once again reappeared in the arena with a new high-end identity. Unlike the luxury cars of the past, the current Crown is positioned as the flagship seven seats of static luxury and dynamic, and it is named, and the newly added "KLUGER" has the meaning of intelligence and wisdom. You may wonder, is the high-end car charm of the Crown still there? Of course it is still there – this time it will be presented in a stronger form.
Unlike the elegant and quiet Crown sedan, the Crown Land Release based on the TNGA-K platform adopts the "Powerful Suave" design concept, and the shape follows the current design taste. Whether it is the diamond-shaped honeycomb middle net, the wide lower grille combined with the through-through silver decorative strips or the strong three-dimensional body, the whole vehicle builds a strong and brave visual perception.
The A/B/C pillars of Crown Land are all treated in black to create a suspended roof effect. The waist line extending to the taillights rises sharply, further enhancing the muscle feel on the side of the body. With 18-inch cutting/20-inch two-color cutting and polishing aluminum alloy wheels, the whole car is quite domineering in the air field.
In terms of interior, Crown Land is built with a center console with a skeleton vertical axis and horizontal axis focusing on the large screen, and then covered with textured interior materials, delicate sewing process and 12.3-inch display screen, continuing the exquisite interior style of the crown in the past. In addition, this infotainment system also has powerful online functions such as intelligent voice interaction system, facial recognition function, Toyota Zhixing Internet, remote diagnosis, theft tracking, etc., close to the online connected life.
In terms of power, the Crown Land Discharge is equipped with a new generation of TNGA 2.5L dual engine system. Among them, the 2.5L DYNAMIC FORCE engine adopts new technologies such as VVT-iE intelligent electric timing intake system, dual injection fuel supply system (D-4S + injection) and laser cladding valve seat. The comprehensive power reaches 183 kW, torque reaches 238 Nm, and can achieve 41% thermal efficiency, matching the new generation of E-CVT stepless, power output is more linear and smoother, bringing surging power while further reducing fuel consumption.
The Crown Land Ramp is based on the high level and low center of gravity performance of the TNGA-K platform to create a low center of gravity body. At the same time, the Crown Land Ramp adopts a front McPherson + rear double fork arm independent suspension system, supplemented by the same standard setting, which reduces the body roll while improving the stability, driving control and comfort of the vehicle. The E-Four electronic four-wheel drive system can greatly improve the output torque of the rear wheels, and also increase the torque distribution ratio of the rear wheels (front and rear torque 100:0~ 20:80), achieving more accurate control while bringing a sporty driving feeling like a rear drive.
In terms of safety, the crown land release has not been neglected. The Toyota Smart Safety System (Safety Sense2.5) is equipped with a pre-collision safety system (with forward pedestrian identification, etc.), a dynamic radar cruise control system (with full-speed domain following function), a lane tracking assistance system (with following function) and an automatic adjustment high beam system. It can not only identify vehicles, but also pedestrians, reduce the chance of accidents and reduce collision injuries. In addition, there is a standard 7-airbag panoramic monitoring system for all series, a blind spot warning system on the rear side of the reversing side, a tire pressure monitoring system, a parking anti-collision assistance system, a vehicle proximity warning system, a driving start assistance control system, and a parallel blind spot monitoring system, etc., to fully protect drivers and passengers.
Since its birth in the 1950s, Crown has witnessed the development history of film and the changes in social life. Whether it is the eastern elegant philosophy of the past or the new identity of the flagship SUV today, its innovative spirit and luxury level remain unchanged. With the official launch of the FAW Toyota Crown in China on August 27, the Crown car series will also open a new chapter. I believe that more Crown figures will appear in movies around the world in the future.
