Toyota Mark II mid-size. The Cressida was an upper-level mid-size rear-wheel drive car with a straight-six engine, as the mid-market second-generation Camry was still classified as a compact car in the early 1990s. The Lexus GS, introduced in 1993 – one year after the Cressida's discontinuation – could also be considered a spiritual successor to the Cressida, as a midsize rear-wheel drive Toyota luxury vehicle with a strong kinship to the Toyota Supra and also derived from a shortened version of the Toyota Crown platform. A redesigned Mark II was released in October 1992, called the X90-series. It received a new front bumper
Toyota Aurion (XV40) Toyota Australia then commenced work on the development of the car, concurrently developing both the Australian car and the version for Asia. Beranger proclaims that the entire engineering undertaking, "is probably one of the most significant jobs that any subsidiary of Toyota Japan has done anywhere in the world." The Australian variant of the car was codenamed "323L". Despite both cars being essentially identical, Australia was given a different code due to the car occupying a broader range in that market—from a fleet vehicle to a sports-oriented model. In Asia, the car's role is much narrower, being a high-end luxury