Most people tend to attribute value to different vehicle aspects. Some enjoy elegant design, others - all-new high-tech features and customization options that come with the vehicle. However, above all else, there is also value in knowing just how good the components under the hood are.
When it comes to the more essential parts, what can be more integral for auto than its heart - the engine? Its performance, condition, capacity, and overall efficiency affect just how smooth your driving experience will be. But not all engines work optimally in certain scenarios, and it’s challenging to pick the right one.
However, the legendary Toyota 2JZ engine is famed for its incredible performance. It’s extremely popular to this very day, and there are a lot of factors that play into its reputation.
To explain how Toyota’s engine became popular, we must look at the Supra model. The company came up with the automobile when they wanted to produce a direct rival to Nissan’s successful Z. They took a Toyota Celica, stretched it out, placed an inline-six from the M family under the hood, and called it Celica Supra or Celica XX in Japan.
However, it didn’t beat the Z in sales, which made Toyota revamp the whole lineup in 1982. The auto got a complete makeover with a heavy redesign and the turbocharged version of the M six-cylinder engine.
Then in 1986, the newly-released third-generation Supra finally became a separate model, no longer part of the Celica lineup. It got a larger platform, allowing Toyota’s engineers to tinker with the vehicle even more and make it a high-performance one. All Supras came with either 7M-GE or the turbocharged 7M-GTE engine, which grew to 3.0 liters (183 cu in) in displacement.
Three years later, Japanese market models received a brand new engine, which replaced the whole M family. Its codename was 1JZ, which is 2JZ’s predecessor. And finally, in 1993, Toyota manufactured the famed A80 Supra, considered by many car enthusiasts to be an engineering marvel.
This new auto featured two engines: the naturally aspirated 2JZ-GE with a power output of 220 hp (164 kW) and 210 lb-ft (285 Nm) of torque, and the twin-turbocharged version 2JZ-GTE, which had 267 hp (206 kW) and 318 lb-ft (431 Nm) of torque.
The engine is built on a cast iron, closed deck block that is highly durable. Even today it remains the most reinforced block ever produced, allowing for significant power potential. The internals are also quite impressive and feature counterweighted forged steel crankshaft with thick reinforced main bearing and connecting rod journals.
The pistons that are within the engine allow for quite a power output. Some tuners reported that these stock pistons could crank things up to 800 hp, once again proving Toyota’s engineering abilities. 2JZ-GTE also has four valves per cylinder (24 in total) and, above all else, comes with sequential twin turbos. One kicks in at low RPMs, and the other joins at 4,000. The turbos are also identical in size, which helps bring in smooth and linear power and torque delivery.
Even though we could go on describing the engine, the brief of it is that it’s extremely powerful. So powerful, in fact, that it became well-known among street racers, gearheads, and fans of Vin Diesel’s Fast and Furious movie.
As car enthusiasts started tinkering with the engine, they quickly discovered they could double or even triple the power output with relative ease. The 2JZ-GTE was designed for high performance but had to be “downgraded” due to Japan's road accident concerns. Reversing that, however, was a matter of swapping the small twin turbos with a larger one or adding one to the naturally aspired version. Then you sprinkle the aftermarket fuel injectors, high-flow fuel pump, a large enough intercooler, and an ECU on top and get a staggering 700 hp.
But that’s not the end of it. You can go as high as 1,500 hp with this engine by changing other components and truly feel like you are part of the Fast and Furious franchise.
2JZ-GTE is an incredibly powerful and sturdy engine with great potential for modification. Toyota has created a marvelous piece of car technology that will cement its legacy as a capable manufacturer.
If you are hunting for this engine, know that the prices have skyrocketed over the decades, and Supras, with this beauty inside, can set you back by several hundred thousand dollars.
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