by Matt Nelson
It's normal in the automotive industry for brands to offer certain models for certain markets. For example, the famous Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution wasn't offered for sale when new in the United States until 2003, which, by that time, meant the Lancer Evo was already in its eighth iteration. There are numerous others, as well, with models such as the Mitsubishi Proudia, Toyota Chaser, and Vauxhall VXR coming to mind, just to name a few.
As many of you already know, the US also has a strict vehicle import law mandating that cars must be at least 25 years of age in order to be lawfully imported. There are a few exceptions, namely due to the Show and Display law. Our sporty subject model today still needs quite a few years under its belt before it can be brought to the US under the 25-Year Rule, but it's worth the wait. That's because it's a unique model, in that it sports a rear-wheel drive drivetrain, something we haven't seen from a Toyota sedan in the States since 1992, in the Lexus-preceding Cressida model.
Some More Forbidden Fruit
Toyota
Quick Facts About The Toyota Mark X GRMN
- Introduced in 2015
- Built on Toyota's N Platform
- Features a 3.5-liter V6
- Comes standard with rear-wheel drive
- Axed following the 2019 model year
The Mark X: The Beginnings
The early 2000s marked a time of change for Toyota, especially within its home market of Japan. The automotive industry was changing, pivoting away from the boxy designs of the 1980s and 1990s, along with demanding more and more tech-heavy cabins. Toyota being Toyota, it rose to the challenge well, and began to make changes to its automobile lineup, always chasing whatever the new-age consumer liked, and wanted, most out of their cars.
By the early 2000s, Toyota was already well-adapted to the new automotive landscape. However, there were a couple of slow-sellers still on the roster that needed to be addressed. For example, the long-running Mark II nameplate, which had been in continuous production since 1968, needed to be phased out. In addition, Toyota needed to get rid of the short-lived, slow-selling, inline-six-powered Verossa sedan, and it was also interested in replacing the discontinued Chaser and Cresta sedans.
Toyota
So, in order to kill two - or rather four - birds with one stone, Toyota hatched a plan. It was decided that the automaker would produce a single sedan that could replace the Verossa, Cresta, Chaser, and Mark II all at once without skipping a beat. That meant the model had to be powered by something with six cylinders (Verossa), have a good bit of luxury (Cresta), be sporty enough to figure its way around a corner (Chaser), and carry on the legacy of a well-known and respected nameplate (Mark II). On top of it all, it needed to be rear-wheel drive.
The resulting model was released in 2006, although it wouldn't be until 2015 that the world (sans the US) would finally see a hardcore, performance version of the rear-wheel drive Mark X: the GRMN.
Enter The Mark X GRMN
First Iteration (2015)
Toyota
Following a conceptual reveal, the 2015 Toyota Mark X GRMN debuted as a rear-drive, full-size bruiser in late 2014. At the time, Toyota had launched its GRMN — short for "Gazoo Racing, tuned by the Meister of the Nürburgring" — lineup in 2009, just five years prior. The Mark X GRMN was only the third entry in the high-performance lineup, following the iQ and the Vitz Turbo versions, respectively. The Mark X variant sported numerous upgrades to both its appearance and mechanical make-up.
Read the full article on CarBuzz
This article originally appeared on CarBuzz and is republished here with permission.
