A 1999 Altezza RS200 Z Edition with the 6-speed manual sold for $11,700 on Cars & Bids in March 2026, a used-car price for a Japan-only Toyota sedan whose 2.0-liter four makes its power at 7,600 rpm. We think the market has this car priced wrong, and every Altezza built in or before October 2001 can now be imported to the US under the 25-year rule.
Toyota sold the Altezza with two engines. The RS200 got the 3S-GE 2.0-liter four: 210 PS at 7,600 rpm with the 6-speed manual, 200 PS at 7,000 rpm with the 5-speed automatic. The AS200 got the 1G-FE 2.0-liter six with 160 PS at 6,200 rpm, first with a 4-speed automatic. All of them weigh 1,310 to 1,340 kg on a 2,670 mm wheelbase.
Our view: buy the RS200 with the manual. The automatic gives up 10 PS and 600 rpm of the reason you want this car, and the AS200 is a pleasant sedan, not an event. The market agrees: in 2026 two manual RS200 Z Editions sold for $10,700 and $11,700, while AS200s went for $5,900 to $10,400.
US buyers know the shape from the Lexus IS300, which arrived for 2001 with a 3.0-liter six. The IS300 is the easier car to own here. The RS200 is the one that rewards you above 7,000 rpm, and that is the reason to import one.
Most Altezzas leaving Japan today are past 100,000 km, and many have been modified. Start with the engine and the paperwork, then the chassis.
Then check originality. A modified manual RS200 brought $11,600 on Bring a Trailer in March 2026 and a modified automatic $8,900 in November 2025, while a dealer sold an original 58,000-mile manual car for $18,000 that same November. Our take: pay the extra for a stock car. Aftermarket parts come off, but a cut harness or a missing factory part is much harder to undo.
Sold prices, not asking prices, from the last twelve months:
| Sold | Car | Where | Odometer (as listed) | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 1, 2026 | 2000 AS200, manual | Bring a Trailer | 113k | $7,300 |
| Apr 28, 2026 | 1999 AS200, automatic | Cars & Bids | 102k | $5,900 |
| Apr 10, 2026 | 1999 RS200 Z Edition, manual | Cars & Bids | 104k | $10,700 |
| Mar 31, 2026 | 1999 RS200 Z Edition, manual | Cars & Bids | 98k | $11,700 |
| Mar 25, 2026 | 2000 AS200 Modellista, automatic | Cars & Bids | 66k | $10,400 |
| Mar 24, 2026 | 2000 RS200, modified, manual | Bring a Trailer | 81k | $11,600 |
| Nov 19, 2025 | 1999 RS200, original, manual | Dealer sale | 58k | $18,000 |
| Nov 19, 2025 | 1999 RS200, modified, automatic | Bring a Trailer | 67k | $8,900 |
Source: CLASSIC.com sale records, read October 21, 2026. A TOM'S 280T RS200 was bid to $20,250 in March 2026 and did not sell.
Our view: the Altezza is still priced like a used car, not a collectible. Manual RS200s sit around $11,000 at auction, and the one original low-mileage car in the data sold for $18,000. With Japan Car of the Year on its record, an engine that revs to 7,600 rpm and a shape US buyers already know from the IS300, we expect the gap between stock manual cars and everything else to widen first.
The 25-year rule counts from the month of manufacture. Altezza sales started in October 1998, so cars built from then through October 2001 qualify this month, and later cars follow month by month. Check the build date before you bid. Our 25-year rule guide has the details.
Found your Altezza at a Japanese auction, a dealer in Tokyo or a show overseas? Read how we import a car from Japan and how we ship a collector car. We ship door to door, by ocean or air, with our own warehouses in California, Florida and New Jersey covering all of the US for imports and exports. Our own team loads every car and handles every document. Price your lane with our car import calculator.
Yes, once it is 25 years old by month of manufacture. In October 2026 that covers cars built from October 1998 through October 2001.
The 3S-GE 2.0-liter four: 210 PS at 7,600 rpm with the 6-speed manual, 200 PS at 7,000 rpm with the automatic.
Between November 2025 and October 2026, Altezzas sold for $5,900 to $11,700 on Bring a Trailer and Cars & Bids, and a dealer sold an original manual RS200 for $18,000 (CLASSIC.com).
Same body and platform. The US IS300 arrived for 2001 with a 3.0-liter six. The Altezza RS200 used a 2.0-liter four and the AS200 a 2.0-liter six.
12.5% in total for a Japan-built car 25 years or older entered since July 24, 2026: the 2.5% base rate plus Section 301 (HTS 9903.05.49).
In 1998 Toyota built a sedan that revs to 7,600 rpm and kept it in Japan. Twenty-eight years on, the clean manual cars still cost less than the ones people cut up. Ready to bring yours over? Contact our Japan import specialists for a quote and see how simple it can be. It's your dream car. Let's bring her home.