Toyota Crown 2600 De Luxe (1978) – In the wild

For those who went shopping at Toyota in the late 1970s and found the Starlet, Corolla and Carina too small and even turned their nose up at the Cressida, Toyota also had the Crown on the menu in the Netherlands. The Toyota Crown in these photos is a model from 1978 and with its wonderfully brown bodywork it is typically a child of its time.

Some cauliflowers at the tank valve, but otherwise the rust is not too bad.

Cars of a respectable age such as this 45-year-old Crown don’t always know how to defend themselves against rust, but this one is still in pretty good shape. Apart from some cauliflowers around the tank lid and a speck of flash rust here and there, the body of this moving time capsule even seems remarkably rust-free. So rust-free, in fact, that we cannot escape the impression that the Crown has already been treated. Or it must have been an indoor sleeper. If the Crown’s exterior has ever been updated, we applaud the owner for his or her efforts. Tell yourself, when was the last time you saw one?

Toyota delivered the Crown in 1978 as a 2000 and as a richer equipped 2000 Special, both with a fairly modest 2.0 four-cylinder. The Crown 2600 provided more motor enjoyment. Indeed, with a 118 hp and 194 Nm powerful 2.6 six-in-line petrol engine. The Crown 2600 was available in the Netherlands as a De Luxe with manual gearbox and automatic transmission, but also as an even more luxurious Super Saloon. Where the De Luxe had a radio, a center console (and therefore no front seat) and power steering as extras compared to the Crown 2000, the Super Saloon went over that with a stereo radio with cassette player, electrically operated side windows and air conditioning. For this Crown 2600 De Luxe you lost fl. 25,500 in 1978.

Elsewhere in the world, the Crown was not only available as a sedan, but also as a four-door hardtop – so without a B-pillar – as a coupé and as a station wagon. The station wagon was also available in the Netherlands as a ‘Station Wagon’ and as a more generously equipped Custom Wagon, without a rigid axle with leaf springs at the rear. Unlike the sedan, the station wagons were only available with a six-cylinder. Bet you could put a lot in it. With the rear seats flat, the load space was no less than 2.12 meters deep.

A Crown station wagon is nowadays even rarer than this four-door sedan and would therefore be the crowning glory in this section, but this Crown Sedan also knows how to arouse the melancholic jitters excellently.