This is the 5.0 liter V12 engine from a Toyota Century, the Japanese automaker’s only production V12 car that was developed to compete with the likes of Rolls-Royce and Bentley.
We do occasionally see gray market examples of the Toyota Century that have been imported, but it’s much rarer to see one of the V12s being offered for sale as an individual unit. The 1GZ-FE version of the V12 is good for 295 bhp and 340 lb ft of torque, and it’s famous for both its reliability and its remarkably smooth running characteristics.
The Toyota Century made its initial debut in 1967 as an upgraded version of the Crown Eight. It was powered at first by a 3.0 liter V8 engine and its understated styling changed little over the course of its 30 year production run.
The Toyota Century made its initial debut in 1967 as an upgraded version of the Crown Eight. It was powered at first by a 3.0 liter V8 engine and its understated styling changed little over the course of its 30 year production run.
There were a series of steady internal updates over the production cycle, including the fitment of larger, more powerful engines, improved luxuries for passengers, and series of safety updates.
These first generation examples of the Toyota Century were almost all sold in Japan for the domestic market, but in recent years many have been exported, and there is now a thriving enthusiast scene surrounding them in the United States, Europe, and Australia.
The second generation Toyota Century appeared in 1997, it was a blank slate redesign of the series but retained looks close to the original. It was now powered by a 5.0 liter V12 developed by Toyota specifically for the Century, and it’s still the only Japanese production car ever fitted with this engine type.
The third generation Toyota Century appeared in 2018. Though it retained many visual cues to the earlier two generations, it was clearly a more modern car, and perhaps sadly, the V12 was dropped in favor of the 5.0 liter 2UR-FSE V8.
The Toyota 1GZ-FE V12 Engine
We don’t often see examples of the 1GZ-FE V12 come up for sale, though we did recently feature a Toyota Land Cruiser that had been retrofitted with one of the engines to boost its performance.
The 1GZ-FE engine is a double overhead cam per bank V12 with 48 valves, variable valve timing (VVT-i), and two ECUs – one to manage each bank of 12 cylinders, though they can communicate with one another.
The second generation Toyota Century appeared in 1997, it was a blank slate redesign of the series but retained looks close to the original. It was now powered by a 5.0 liter V12 developed by Toyota specifically for the Century.
The engine is famous for its exceptional reliability, and high milage examples that have had only standard scheduled servicing is common. Power is 295 bhp at 5,200 rpm and 340 lb ft of torque at 4,000 rpm, with 295 lb ft available from as low as 1,200 rpm.
The example you see here is now being offered for sale on eBay out of South El Monte, California with a Buy It Now price of $4,067 USD. If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can visit the listing here.
Images courtesy of JPR Imports, Inc.
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