Ford had the XR Sprint edition, Holden wheeled out Director, Motorsport and Magnum send-offs – now Toyota has commemorated its manufacturing history in Australia with a special-edition Camry.
Weeks out from the closure of its Altona manufacturing facility in Victoria -- and wedged neatly between Ford and Holden's respective shutdowns -- Toyota Australia has confirmed a limited-build run of 54 Commemorative Edition Camrys.
Each is based on the Camry Atara SL sedan, and signifies Toyota’s 54-year run building vehicles in Australia. Pricing has been set at $41,150 plus on-road costs – a $710 jump on the regular flagship Camry Atara SL.
Dubbed the most sophisticated version of Australia’s most technically advanced mass-production car, the signature cars will be differentiated by their combination of metallic silver paint and a black roof, a sporty red strip across the lower lip of the grille, blue illumination of the footwell and Camry-branded scuff plates. The limited-edition model is finished with a sports mesh interior, special floor mats and badging.
Under the bonnet resides a 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine tied to a 105kW drive motor. All up, the system develops 151kW while delivering a claimed fuel rating of 5.2L/100km.
The car’s tech credentials are underscored by a significant safety suite comprising automated emergency braking, active cruise control, automatic high beam, lane departure alert and rear-cross traffic alert.
Sat-nav, leather-accented seats, front and rear parking sensors, a wireless phone charger and a reversing camera are also included.
"One of the 54 Commemorative Camrys will be kept by Toyota Australia and another sent for display at the TMC Museum in Japan, confirming our parent company's high regard for the employee commitment, local engineering input and quality achieved in 54 years of local manufacture," Toyota Australia president Dave Buttner said.
Toyota will cease manufacturing cars in Australia on October 3, bringing to an end production of more than 2.1 million Camrys across six generations, not to mention production of other popular nameplates including the Tiara, Corolla, Crown and Corona.