The Toyota Century made its first appearance way back in 1967 to celebrate the centennial of the company's founder, Sakichi Toyoda. As a fitting tribute, designers envisioned a car that would satisfy the ideals of Japanese luxury, with no compromises from outside cultures. Conceived as a Japanese equivalent to a Rolls-Royce, the Century was a hand-built limousine intended for business leaders and high-ranking dignitaries. The body style remained essentially unchanged from 1967 through 1997, with only some minor styling tweaks and mechanical refinements along the way. Powered by Toyota's own light alloy V8 engine, displacement grew from 2.6 liters to 4.0 liters by the end of the original series. These cars were the epitome of Japanese luxury. By the last-run G40 series, equipment included luxurious cloth upholstery, power adjustable rear seats, electric door latches, automatic climate control (introduced in 1971!) separate controls for front/rear ventilation and a host of other luxury and technological features.