Akio Toyoda's GRMN V8 limo

If the born-again Toyota Supra and the prospect of cars such as a hot hatch based on the revitalised Toyota Corolla to sit alongside the Toyota 86 in the new Toyota GR sports sub-brand haven't convinced you Toyota is serious about massaging its image from safe but boring to safe and exciting... then check this out.

It's the Toyota Century and unless you're a JDM watcher or have spent significant time Japan, you've probably never heard of it.

When a one-off modified version of the Toyota Century surfaces on Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda's Instagram feed, fettled by Toyota's Nurburgring specialist GRMN (GAZOO Racing Masters of the Nürburgring) and built specifically for the boss with lots of go-fast bits, it makes the car nerd inside us do a happy dance.

The rear-drive Toyota behemoth measures 5.3 metres long and has massive LCD entertainment screens plus what appear to be several hand-finished metal and timber finishes nestled in and around the plush-pile carpeted seats.

Indeed, this vehicle is pretty rare even in Japan, where its sticker price of $238,000 (¥19,600,000) would make many Lexus buyers blanche, but this one is even more unique with a black interior GRMN colour scheme along with a lower ride height to add a little gangster attitude.

There's a carbon-fibre spoiler at the rear, black mesh grille with GRMN badge at the front and some new-look alloy wheels shod with Yokohama Advan tyres. White-painted GRMN brake callipers look pretty tidy too, tying into the colour scheme nicely.

Akia Toyoda, one of the most powerful men in the automotive industry, is a self-confessed rev-head and was spotted rocking up to an event in the Toyota Century GRMN recently. It's not clear whether Toyoda was driving because the Century has always been about the back seat… until now, it would seem.

In the past the Toyota Century has been powered by a V12 but this latest fourth-generation features a more environmentally-respectful 5.0-litre V8 (2UR-FSE also used by Lexus) with a hybrid set-up that pumps out around 317kW.

It's not clear whether GMRN has tweaked the engine – we want to believe! – but at least we would hope the CVT automatic was dumped in favour of something a little more involving like an epicyclic automatic.

Essentially the Rolls-Royce of Toyotas, it's not clear if this one-off Toyota Century GRMN will ever reach production, but GRMN has built limited-run road cars in the past.

In 2016, just 100 special-edition Toyota 86 GMRN vehicles were built, while in 2015 only 100 units of the Toyota Mark X GMRN were sold. The Vitz (Yaris) and IQ micro-cars also spawned GRMN specials previously.