Is The Toyota Chaser Legal In The US & Does It Have A 2JZ Engine Under The Hood?

The Toyota Chaser is essentially the closest thing one can reasonably get to a four-door Supra –- at least at the top-level trims. Starting out life as a compact in 1977 before upgrading to a midsize sedan in its second generation (released in 1980), the Chaser represents a mid-level luxury car just below the Toyota Crown. Unlike the Supra, which has long since been associated with the street racing subculture, the Chaser never really developed a similar cult following outside of being a popular JDM car. Nevertheless, it remains a formidable racer with the right equipment.

If you brought one here, it'd unquestionably be an excellent sleeper –-at least in the top trim levels, where yes, a Chaser does in fact feature a 2JZ in its naturally aspirated form. And yes, you certainly can bring it stateside. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration law stipulates that anything 25 years or older may be lawfully imported. This applies to the month of the car's manufacture, as opposed to the model year. For instance, many 2001 cars may, in fact, have been built in 2000 for the 2001 model year. Such a car is eligible for importation in 2025.

That said, the Chaser ended production in June 2001, which means that, as of April 2025, all but only a few especially late-model Chasers are eligible for importation. These cars shipped with a variety of engines, including the 2JZ.

The first Chaser to feature the 2JZ powerplant was the fifth generation, replacing the outgoing 7M-GE in the top-level Avante trim package. This Chaser may be the first to utilize the 2JZ specifically, but the top-level 1JZ-GTE twin-turbo that initially saw service with the fourth-gen model became the most powerful engine ever fitted to a Chaser from the factory. Basically, this was a car that looked as pedestrian as a Camry (and normally drove like one) but could be optioned with the same engine as a Mark 3 Supra – a truly fantastic sleeper, and a common thread among virtually the entire subsequent JZ-equipped Chaser line.

The 2JZ-GE was a popular engine that powered a variety of Toyota models, including the Chaser. It's the naturally aspirated variant of everyone's favorite overengineered monstrosity, the 2JZ-GTE. They're fundamentally the same engine, aside from various differences , such as the obvious forced-induction. There are even greater differences between the 2JZ and 1JZ, being an entire generation more advanced.

Those differences add up. Let's say you didn't want to spend all that time and money converting a 2JZ-GE into a GTE and wanted one right out of the gate. Sadly no Chaser offers a 2JZ-GTE from the factory, but it does sport an alternative option for people looking for excellent forced-induction power — namely, the 2.5L 1JZ-GTE. Available from 1990 onwards, the 1JZ-GTE Chaser culminated with the 1996-2001 Tourer V package, marking the final say in terms of factory performance.

The Chaser Tourer V's 1JZ-GTE produces a rated 280PS (276 horsepower), though that number is easily improved with enough dedication. It's not quite on the same level of noteworthiness as the 2JZ-GTE and likewise features a number of key differences as mentioned previously. But in a Chaser, especially one equipped with a 5-speed manual and a few aftermarket parts, this engine absolutely hauls. So if you're in a position where you can select either a 2JZ-GE or a 1JZ-GTE in a Chaser, the 1JZ provides more factory power than any other model.

It also comes with AWD, further boosting its acceleration at the cost of additional weight and complexity. As for the 2JZ-GE Chaser, that's still by no means slow, producing some 220PS (217 horsepower). The trim boasting that specific engine is the Chaser 3.0 Avante G, essentially the top-level luxury option for the sixth-gen Chaser. Its core features include a variety of options ranging from premium audio and luxury interior appointments to progressive power steering and advanced automatic shifting.

Sadly this model isn't available with AWD, though the Avante Four sports this option (albeit with a naturally aspirated 1JZ-GE). Likewise, the 2JZ-equipped Chaser only came with an automatic from the factory. Still, the Chaser is a venerable vehicle with a plethora of features, outstanding engine options, and that late 90s Toyota reliability pedigree. And it's legal to import into the U.S. What's not to love?