JDM Traditional Japanese Car Toyota ALTEZZA

ALTEZZA is a middle-class sports sedan car sold by Toyota from 1998 to 2005.

Toyota ALTEZZA was born in October 1998 as a new-generation sports sedan that offers high-quality, full-fledged sporty driving that anyone can enjoy, from urban driving to winding roads and circuit driving.

In addition to optimizing the front-to-rear weight distribution of the body, such as by mounting the engine in the front midship, the interior space is comfortable enough for four adults to move comfortably, and the body is attached to the body via a highly rigid subframe. It has a double wishbone mounted suspension. It boasted high popularity as a full-fledged middle-class sports sedan that combines linear handling performance that traces the target line and excellent power performance with high stability.

The origin of the ALTEZZA car name means "noble" in Italian.

The exterior of the ALTEZZA is characterized by a dynamic and elegant styling with a feeling of firmness, while the front overhang is cut as much as possible and the body size is easy to handle.
Front and rear fenders that cover the large-diameter tires and the front grill with a large and low opening, the powerful raised bonnet hood. Short overhangs on the front and rear combination lamps. The round stop lamp and tail, which are mounted on the independent trunk, have adopted a dynamic and stable design.

The interior of ALTEZZA adopts a modern cockpit design with a black tone that emphasizes functionality with a driver-centered layout, and there are three types of combination meters placed in the cockpit: a voltmeter, a water temperature gauge, and an oil pressure gauge. It was a novel design like a precise chronograph, placing the meter inside the speedometer.

The engine adopted a 1G-FE type in-line 6-cylinder engine and a 3S-GE type in-line 4-cylinder engine, both of which were 2L. In addition, the RS200 and AS200 6-speed MT models were equipped with a Torsen LSD as standard. At the time of its release, this 3S-GE engine boasted 210 horsepower, which is the highest output among Japanese 2L naturally aspirated engines in the catalog.

Outside of Japan, it was also sold as the first model of the entry model "IS" of the luxury car brand "Lexus" that Toyota was developing overseas.

Unfortunately, in 2005, ALTEZZA was discontinued after only one generation.