When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Recently a number of interactions with the owner of an exceedingly well-documented 1972 Porsche 911T led me to start looking for some period literature on my car, so as tends to happen about once a month I ended up trawling Yahoo Auctions Japan for various bits of the Celsior story. While I did learn that actual coffee table art book sort of publication by Toyota exists about the Celsior, the price was a little much for something of an impulse purchase so I'll (hopefully) get my hands on one of those another time. What I did end up getting was an original Celsior brochure published in 1991, including a price list document from Gifu Toyota. I thought I would share some of the more interesting bits here.
Front cover.
I'm not sure exactly how known this is, but the Celsior was the first Toyota to wear the above logo as a badge. According to Toyota's statement here, the inner ellipses represent the "T" in Toyota while the outer ellipse represents "the global extent of Toyota technology, the future, and the unlimited possibilities across the universe."
I had not seen this cutaway view of the 1UZ-FE before, though I haven't looked very hard.
The backseat exclusive to the F-package available on the C Type. In reality this cloth color is much darker.
Most interesting about this section is the tiny ceiling mounted LCD screen at the bottom right. I have never seen or heard of a car equipped with this and this image is the first time I've even encountered it. This must have been a very rare dealer option.
You UCF20/21 guys have a CD changer in your glove box, how quaint. How about a fax machine?
These are the heated ultrasonic vibrating mirrors that power fold. This was standard from Type B upwards.
The C Type was the highest trim level, though leather was not included- it was an option on the B and C Type cars.
The B Type used conventional spring suspension but with a version of the TEMS system applied to the C Type's air suspension. Essentially both trim levels had adjustable damping stiffness but only the C Type had adjustable ride height. I believe this version of the system was called "Piezo-TEMS" as it appeared in the B Type.
The A Type was the base model. These pictures make the grey cloth look so appealing.
Page 1 of options. Of note here are a few small things, mostly stuff the A Type didn't or couldn't get. The A Type did not include heat and radiation blocking glass, the ability to add a sunroof, standard ABS, a CHMSL, electrically dimming rear view mirror, keyless entry, leather shift ****, electrically adjusting steering wheel, or power memory seats. The B Type came standard with the front splitter, but the C Type had it as an option.
Page 2 of options. Another thing the A Type didn't have: wool fabric. The A Type apparently just has "fabric." The F package included heated rear seats regardless of material chosen. Heated wool seats please! What's interesting here is that all three trim levels apparently got different kinds of fabric- I had assumed it was just a choice between fabric and leather.
Paint colors! Interior colors! Green is a standard combination, blue is an optional combination. Presumably you couldn't get something that wasn't either green or blue. Paint colors on left side, from top to bottom translated to their US equivalents: Diamond White Pearl (051), Silvermist Metallic (176), Flint Grey Pearl (180), Black Onyx (202), Burgundy Pearl (3H8), Taupe Metallic (3H9), Dark Walnut Pearl (4K8), Black Jade Metallic (6K4), and Cobalt Blue Metallic (172). The included price sheet lists Black Jade Metallic as a 40,000 yen option, dated October 1989. Interior colors available were black, grey, "rose" (brown I believe) and blue for leather, and grey, brown, or blue for cloth. The A Type was only available with grey or blue cloth. Also interesting is the total lack of the rare burgundy interior color that pops up occasionally here in the US.
If anyone is trying to make sense of that chart without translating it, I have listed the colors in the order they appear in each section. To get you started, my Diamond White Pearl with brown wool cloth interior has a paint code of 051 and a trim code of FF45. That's the sole green block for paint code 051 under the C Type heading.
The last page. "The dreams of car people are now achieved as one luxury car. And again, the challenge begins. For Celsior to go beyond Celsior."
Your move, UCF20. Machine translation is a hell of a drug.
Anyway I hope someone else is as excited to see this as I was! Concrete knowledge on the Celsior is sort of hard to get at in the US so I hope this might be a useful guide to other Celsior owners and enthusiasts who want freaky amounts of information about their cars.
Awesome post, creilly! Thanks for translating some bits.
I found a full online version on Toyota's website a few years back. I posted it once on the forum for another Celsior owner.
If anyone is interested in viewing the full document, here is the link to the brochure.
Another fun fact, the Toyota museum in Japan has an entire exhibit dedicated to the Celsior development. Part of the display includes a sound system demo, a GPS demo, and the instrument cluster demo. The fax machine is also in the glove compartment. Here are a few videos:
Attached are a few of many other photos I've collected [these are not mine]:
- Aerodynamics display (1964 Toyota Corona vs 1989 Toyota Celsior)
- Fax machine close-up:
- Parts display
- Celsior on display (2 Celsiors: One silver, one black jade pearl. 1 LS 400 in black jade pearl)
- Exhibit sign
I'll make it to this museum some day..
Last edited by CELSI0R; 02-27-18 at 03:31 PM.
Reason: Added additional image
The massive lineage chart sort of thing that leads to that brochure is an amazing library of Toyota history- I've looked at so many brochures there. One of my favorites is the one for the Crown Eight. Anyway, I did not know the Toyota museum had a section dedicated to the Celsior! I'd wanted to go anyway just because who wouldn't, but that's just so much better. Those videos are interesting too, I've seen one with that navigation system before but it wasn't functioning. And I guess the fax machine slides in and out with the door? I can't imagine it's very helpful to have that thing hanging out there all the time. I've also noticed the Celsior never got a passenger side airbag unlike the US market cars.
That is very cool! I wish I could keep a collection of brochures for more significant vehicles. Since you mentioned it, there is also a Crown Eight on display at the museum!
Also, I was confused about some of the differences between the LS and Celsior myself, so I did some other research a while back.
In 1992 Celsiors (1993 LS 400s), a passenger airbag was added to the dashboard. I found this out via Japanese Classics (see attached image).
Another two minor details that were changed on the car included the high-mounted middle brake light, and the Toyota Celsior badge. From late 1989 to early 1992, the badges read "Toyota Celsior," like yours, and the middle brake lamp was the same as USDM LS 400s. From late 1992 to early 1994, the rear badge read "Celsior," and the middle brake lamp was made much wider (see attached images), but USDM cars did not receive this change.
Sorry if I'm going too off topic now. Your posting of the brochure has intrigued me to share.
Haha that's actually the car I was referring to when I said I'd seen one with the OEM navigation. It's so cool seeing their cars around town from time to time, plus there's a fair amount of locals buying cars there. I went back through their Celsior listings earlier today as well, but I was trying to see if I could find examples of the different cloth fabrics that each trim level supposedly had. It turns out out of the 18 Celsiors they've had, only one wasn't a C Type. The very first Celsior they imported was an A Type, and after that all of them have been C Type.
I feel like I've seen post-92 Celsiors with some of the other changes but not the airbag. Maybe that's an entirely fabricated memory though. And I have noticed the difference in upper brake light, I wonder why it was made so large. And I do prefer the earlier setup with the TOYOTA badging on the trunk.
That one from Japanese Classics with the nav unit is actually my Celsior! A little more info on it: it was built in October 1992 and as mentioned, does have the passenger-side airbag. It also has the 16" wheels and other changes that match up with the 1993+ UCF10s. I believe it actually is a 1993 model year; Japanese Classics seems to list the manufacture year for their cars (since that's what matters for the 25 year import rule).
That video is the first one I've seen of the nav unit actually working! On mine, the digitizer works, but the screen only displays white, so I have to fumble around blindly to change CDs, turn on/off the AC, etc.
This brochure is fascinating. I never knew about the Celsior being the first with the Toyota badge. I didn't realize the badge was so recent!
That one from Japanese Classics with the nav unit is actually my Celsior! A little more info on it: it was built in October 1992 and as mentioned, does have the passenger-side airbag. It also has the 16" wheels and other changes that match up with the 1993+ UCF10s. I believe it actually is a 1993 model year; Japanese Classics seems to list the manufacture year for their cars (since that's what matters for the 25 year import rule).
That video is the first one I've seen of the nav unit actually working! On mine, the digitizer works, but the screen only displays white, so I have to fumble around blindly to change CDs, turn on/off the AC, etc.
This brochure is fascinating. I never knew about the Celsior being the first with the Toyota badge. I didn't realize the badge was so recent!
Awesome! Haha I love finding the owners of the Celsiors that Japanese Classics has had in. What are your plans for it? That was a really clean car, I saw it when I was there at the fall open house.
Awesome! Haha I love finding the owners of the Celsiors that Japanese Classics has had in. What are your plans for it? That was a really clean car, I saw it when I was there at the fall open house.
Plans are to keep it as stock as I can, and to fix the few things that need attention on it. Currently the main things are the nav unit, and the air ride suspension leaking. Unfortunately, I may have to go aftermarket with the stereo if I can't fix the screen. I'd love to swap in a stock non-GPS unit, but the wiring is totally different. As for the air ride, once it gets bad enough I plan to convert to coil springs. Repairing the air system is just too expensive for me. I plan to at least source some OEM springs (and shocks if possible) to hopefully retain the stock ride quality.
Otherwise, it'll stay totally stock. This is the first car I've owned that I haven't dreamed up all kinds of mods and upgrades. It's fantastic as it is!
Plans are to keep it as stock as I can, and to fix the few things that need attention on it. Currently the main things are the nav unit, and the air ride suspension leaking. Unfortunately, I may have to go aftermarket with the stereo if I can't fix the screen. I'd love to swap in a stock non-GPS unit, but the wiring is totally different. As for the air ride, once it gets bad enough I plan to convert to coil springs. Repairing the air system is just too expensive for me. I plan to at least source some OEM springs (and shocks if possible) to hopefully retain the stock ride quality.
Otherwise, it'll stay totally stock. This is the first car I've owned that I haven't dreamed up all kinds of mods and upgrades. It's fantastic as it is!
I agree totally! My only complaint is the lack of 5th gear- that really seems to hold the Celsior in particular back on the highway and at the gas station. My air suspension is still totally fine (fingers crossed) but I'd probably do the same thing if it needed repairing, it's just way too expensive.
Could anyone verify. Were the motorized height adjustable seat belts standard on all models?
For the LS 400 and Celsior, power shoulder belts were not standard for all models and were part of the memory seat system. For Type A Celsiors, all shoulder belts were manual - power wasn't even an option. Power shoulder belts were standard for B, C, and CF Type Celsiors.
For LS 400, you can see the power belt controls missing on the door panels in RoadGuyRob's review of his base LS:
For the LS 400 and Celsior, power shoulder belts were not standard for all models and were part of the memory seat system. For Type A Celsiors, all shoulder belts were manual - power wasn't even an option. Power shoulder belts were standard for B, C, and CF Type Celsiors.
For LS 400, you can see the power belt controls missing on the door panels in RoadGuyRob's review of his base LS: https://youtu.be/TRRXxFWDiY4?t=831
My LS also does not have the power shoulder belts.
Very interesting. Thanks for the info. Are you more a fan of the Toyota branded Celsior or of the Lexus branded LS ?
02-27-18, 12:28 PM
Toyota Celsior Brochure
