In 1996 Toyota wanted to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the first auto it produced – the Model AA a limited-production luxury car. 1,404 AA were sold between 1936 and 1943. Inspired by the DeSoto Airflow with a rounded grille, external headlights, and a ribbed design cue in the front quarter panel, only 1 original AA is known is to survive.
Toyota undertook to build one to original spec in 1989 for display in their museum located in located in Nagakute city, (close to Nagoya), Japan.
For their 60th anniversary in 1996 Toyota produced 100 “Classic” sedans with the AA’s charming retro style but with modern mechanicals. They were sold only in Japan with a price tag equivalent to $75,000 at the time.
What is intriguing is that the paint on the 60th anniversary retro AA is burgundy and black applied in similar manner to what Citroën showed when they introduced the ’dressed up’ 2CV Charleston in 1981, adding a ’chic elegance’ to the basic 2CV Club.
Was Toyota inspired by what Citroën did with the 2CV, to make their classic four door sedan have a charming retro look? Externally, it would certainly appear so…
The interior is modern with a plush red leather seats, A/C and a luxurious faux burl wood dashboard and door caps. Electric window switches and power door locks are carried over from production Toyota models of the 1990s.
The 2.0 litre 4-cylinder fuel injected engine is rated at 96 horsepower and is tied to a 4-speed automatic transmission.
Suspension is made up of torsion bars up front and leaf springs in the back. Disc brakes are up front and drums are in the rear. The clean underside that is evidence of low mileage and well minded upkeep. Other than some surface rust and normal patina, it barely looks like it’s been driven.
The 1996 Toyota Classic Sedan shown here is currently for sale with a title verified 36,352 actual kilometers, (22,558 miles), for $28,500 USD at Classic Auto Mall Inc in Morgantown, PA. Apparently the power windows and power door locks are not operating, but given Toyota’s reliability and parts availability, that is probably a small issue for a buyer who wants to own a Charleston-esque classic inspired Toyota.
You will find that parts availability for these JDM cars isn’t that great at all. I wouldn’t be surprised that most nothing is available for this car.