2.5 Roulant (1JZ-GE)

STORY

The Cresta went on sale on 1 April 1980 as the flagship of the Toyota Vista channel that opened the same month, six months before the fourth-generation Mark II whose platform and door panels it shared. The first car was a four-door pillared hardtop with sashless doors, offered with a 1.8-litre four or the new 1G-EU straight six, and a turbocharged 145 PS six followed in October 1981. From 22 August 1984 the Cresta used a conventional sash-door sedan body, and the GX81 of 24 August 1988 belonged to the best-selling generation of the trio. The fourth car of 29 October 1992 grew into the wider 3-number class, the 3.0 as JZX91 at 220 PS and the top of the range the 2.5 twin-turbo JZX90 at 280 PS. The JZX100 of 5 September 1996 stood 20 mm taller than its sisters to look the most formal of the three. Production ended in June 2001, and the Verossa replaced both Cresta and Chaser that July.