Toyota Crown Athlete/Royal to adopt aggressive front grille?

Remember the X-grille intersection with headlight of the facelifted Toyota Mark X? Apparently it is not the last. While the European Toyota is adopting a beak-line nose on the Auris family, the Japan's domestic is going radical again, far more radical than the Lexus spindle's item. Below is the leaked photo of the new Toyota Crown, depicted in Royal and Athlete forms here.

As usual, the two models share the main body, differentiated by the different front and rear end styling. While Royal majors on luxury amenities, the Athlete version takes a sportier route. In this new model, the headlight differs, so is the rear bumper bumper. But the MAIN talking point will be the front grille. In either model, it is massive! I don't know what Toyota is trying to achieve here but perhaps road presence is surely one of it.

In current series, both version shares the same rear end. So in this model iteration, the rear end has been substantially redesigned compared to the current model. The rear end is kind of reminiscent of last generation Camry, but with heavy chrome touch surrounding the license plate.

Before rejoicing to call this is an all-new car, there is a possibility that is a comprehensive model update like the rehashed Lexus LS series. This is because the basic silhouette remains familiar, especially from the A-pillar to the thick C-pillar. The interior too has some current model cues. The centre console still has similar design theme, although the aircond outlet has shift from horizontal type to vertical one. Despite this, the floor/gear console looks the same. The door trim is entirely different though, with visibly thick leather upholstery and chromed panels (centre, power window switch and aircond duct). More detail after the jump.

Toyota Crown Royal/Athlete sits on the same platform as the Lexus GS. In the previous model, it is 4,870mm long,  sits on 2,850mm wheelbase, 1,795mm wide and 1,470mm tall. It remains to be seen if this model has switched to the newer GS platform or just a re-skinned of the current model.

Photos : Jokeforblog