Toyota Made A Hemi Engine Six Decades Ago, And Nobody Noticed

Despite what clever branding whitethorn person tricked you into reasoning complete nan past 2 decades, hemi engines are not exclusive to what are now Stellantis-owned brands. Although "HEMI' has been adorning basking Dodge and Chrysler models for arsenic agelong arsenic you tin remember, location is simply a overmuch richer and deeper history to that word. It's now fundamentally conscionable a trim level, anyway, arsenic modern hemi engines aren't moreover that.

See, hemi is short for hemispherical, and it refers to nan style of nan engine's combustion chamber. Modern hemi engines don't athletics specified combustion chambers, truthful they aren't existent hemis — nan connection has go much of a branding exercise. However, earlier this, Chrysler was producing genuine hemi engines, and it wasn't alone. Despite nan spotlight ever being shone connected Chrysler's motor offerings, Toyota had besides been engaged processing its ain hemi. This wasn't immoderate bizarre one-off creation that ne'er saw nan greenish ray for production, either; it was produced complete respective decades, and recovered a location successful immoderate of nan Japanese giant's astir prestigious models.

Toyota's hemi V8 first arrived connected nan segment successful 1963, nether nan hood of nan all-new Crown sedan astatine nan Tokyo Motor Show. This exemplary was developed to supply Japanese businessmen thing Japanese they could float astir in, arsenic opposed to having to take an imported luxury car. Sporting hemispherical combustion chambers, Toyota's motor — initially codenamed V — was a existent hemi, overmuch for illustration nan Chrysler FirePower engines that inspired its creation.

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Despite taking inspiration from Chrysler's V8, nan Japanese replacement was rather different. Instead of all-cast-iron construction, Toyota's hemi V8 boasted an aluminum block, truthful it was importantly lighter — which nary uncertainty aided comfortableness and handling successful those early Crown models. It was besides smaller and little powerful, since Japanese metropolis streets didn't require nan aforesaid benignant of grunt arsenic wide-open American spaces.

It was 2.6 liters successful capacity, and output of early iterations peaked astatine 114 horsepower and 144 pound-feet of torque. However, improvements soon saw capacity swell to 3.0 liters, and output grew to a much competent 148 horses, alongside 173 lb-ft.

The last update came successful 1983, and this type served Toyota's finest flagship models until 1997, erstwhile nan V12-powered Century sedan took connected nan baton. In this last guise, dubbed nan 5V, Toyota's Hemi V8 had swollen to 4.0 liters, and managed to footwear put 188 horsepower and 239 lb-ft. Even astatine this precocious stage, Toyota refused to succumb to nan Western world's thought of a V8. Instead of chasing heady outputs and smoking tires, this often-overlooked hemi focused connected being quiet and capable, destined only for nan brand's astir luxurious applications.

The motor was developed and built successful collaboration pinch Yamaha. Not only was it wonderfully soft and nan cleanable solution for Japanese businessman from nan '70s to nan '90s, it was besides remarkably well-engineered, and has proven impressively reliable complete nan years.

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Owning a hemi-powered Toyota successful 2025 is an charismatic proposition for gearheads pinch a sensation for nan finer things. The only problem is that they were made only for nan Japanese market. That's right, Japan's astir absorbing car was deemed excessively luxurious for America. But owed to the 25-year import rule, it's now imaginable to bring complete Crown and Century models pinch nan V engine — thing galore enthusiasts person done. Furthermore, contempt being nan brand's flagship exemplary for decades, it's now somewhat overshadowed by nan later Century that sported Japan's only mass-produced V12 engine, truthful getting clasp of a hemi-V8-motivated Toyota isn't each that expensive. 

Early models are harder to travel across, though examples of nan Century from nan early 1990s harvest up connected enthusiast auction sites. When they do, they seldom bid figures higher than $10,000. This is for examples which person already been imported, and truthful you don't person nan hassle of import fees, paperwork, and lengthy hold times to woody with, either. 

We considered a 1990 Century nan woody of a life astatine $7,500, but location are different costs progressive pinch keeping specified a uncommon beast connected nan roads successful nan U.S., and nan scarcity of parts and those knowledgeable capable to activity connected specified an motor whitethorn detract from nan budget-friendly allure of a classical Century model. Still, each worthy it for nan die-hard instrumentality who gets to thrust astir successful nan hemi that cipher other moreover knows about.