About jZX100
The Toyota Chaser (Japanese: トヨタ・チェイサー, Hepburn: Toyota Cheisā) is a mid-size car produced by Toyota in Japan. Most Chasers are four-door sedans and hardtop sedans; a two-door hardtop coupé was available on the first generation only. It was introduced on the 1976 Toyota Corona Mark II platform, and was sold new by Toyota at Toyota Vista Store dealerships only in Japan, together with the Toyota Cresta. The Chaser was produced for six generations, and production ceased in 2001, when it was merged with the Cresta to form the short lived Verossa.
X100 Series 1996–2001
In September 1996, the X100 Chaser replaced the X90 Chaser. The product lineup consisted mostly of Avante and Tourer trim, with the Avante as the luxury model (with more interior accessories) and the Tourer as the sporty model (with large 16-inch wheels). Toyota’s VVTi, the company’s version of variable-valve timing, was added to the 1JZ engines; they were also upgraded to have more torque, since they had already reached the agreed voluntary limit set by Japanese Automobile Manufacturer’s Association regarding horsepower. The 1JZ-GTE was powered by a single turbo configuration instead of the twin turbo of its predecessors.
New to the lineup was the Avante Four and the Avante Four G Package, which was the Avante 2.5 L installed with All-Trac AWD. These cars were only available with a 4-speed electronic control type (ECT) automatic transmission. The Tourer V and the automatic-only Avante G 3.0 L (2JZ) models had the option of electronic control flex lockup attaching 4-speed automatic (intelligent) (ECT-iE) transmission, besides the ECT-E automatic in the lower-end models.
In 1997, the lineup remained largely unchanged, although three basic models were added: the XL, Raffine and Tourer 2.0 L. The XL and Raffine models were powered by the 1.8 L 4S-FE engine while the Tourer 2.0 L was powered by the 1G-FE engine, rated at 140 PS (103 kW; 138 hp) at 5,600 rpm.[18] These models were only sold with the 4-speed electronic control type (ECT) automatic transmission.
In mid-late 1998, the base Tourer model received the optional manual gearbox and a 4WD option was added to the base Avante models; the Avante Four S Package received a higher special-edition interior. Additionally, the Chaser received a facelift, with the most significant changes to the rear tail lights. Other changes included new fog lights with a slightly redesigned front bar to accommodate them, different interior fabric, a 3-spoke steering wheel instead of 4 spokes, orange gauge lighting instead of white and a grille with 2 horizontal bars instead of 3. The Chaser continued to be offered as the second-level sedan below the Toyota Aristo, and in 1998 Toyota Vista Store locations were renamed NETZ Store.
The Chaser was discontinued in June 2001.[19] It was replaced with a new model called the Verossa which shared the same model code. The Cresta suffered the same fate, but the Mark II continued for another generation (X110) before it was also discontinued. In 2004, the all-new X120 Mark X was introduced in Japan, incorporating many characteristics of the Chaser and the Cresta.
Motorsports
X100 Chasers took part in the Japanese Touring Car Championship in 1997 and 1998. The car did not manage to win a race in its debut season, while the following year, when other manufacturers had left the JTCC, it won the title with Masanori Sekiya and TOM’S. The Chaser became famous in drifting events,[20] due to its traditional front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, and vehicles without AWD installed are more sought after. Numerous Toyota Chasers, especially the later X90s and X100s, have been modified for use in drift.