Japan has a V12 production engine. It’s made by Toyota and has been available since 1997. Why haven’t we heard of it? Because it’s only available in the Century limousine. It is not a performance powerplant but a mass mover born to deal with long wheelbases, tons of weight, and a status-conscious clientele.

It should be noted that Smokey Nagata of Top Secret fame infused one of these 1GZ-FEs with a pair of turbochargers and dropped it into a Supra in 2009. target=”_blank”>The results were what you’d expect from Nagata-san.

The V12 displaces 5.0 liters and sports a double overhead-cam 48-valve valvetrain that’s commanded by Toyota’s VVTi variable cam timing system. Due to a gentleman’s agreement between Japanese manufacturers and the Japanese government in the late ’80s, output was listed at the agreed-upon max of 276 horsepower.

The V12’s real output is estimated to be around 320 horsepower, while torque checks in at an impressive 355 pound-feet at 4,000 RPM, and with 12 cylinders and big displacement, there is a whopping 300 pound-feet on tap at a low and usable 1,200 RPM.

So when a crazy New Zealander was contemplating an engine swap for his old-schooler, he took matters to the ragged edge and secured a 1GZ-FE for his 1979 Toyota Corona Mark II. That’s right, a Corona.

The Corona is a long-running model in the Toyota portfolio, debuting in 1957 under the Toyopet banner and running until 2002. The most popular iteration of the model for old schoolers is the third generation “shovelnose” examples produced from 1964 to 1970. The version featured here represents the sixth generation of the line, and while some in the U.S. may consider the this ’79 to be a decade past its zenith, we love the nostalgic VIP vibe coming off the old Yota.

This Corona rolled off the assembly line with a paltry 95 horsepower 2.2-liter 20R four-cylinder engine… so how does one decide to multiply the cylinder count by a factor of three? Quickly perhaps? Path of least resistance?

The power-mongering website engineswapdepot.com has been following the car since mid-2016. It seems the Kiwi owner was considering an early M-series inline six and a 1UZ V8 but came upon the V12 and couldn’t resist the urge.

He was surprised how the big motor cooperated, and reports only modifications to the exhaust headers and steering box were needed to secure the powerplant using a set of 1UZ to M swap mounts and some muscular metal bending. The big motor runs modified Corolla 4A-GE 20V individual throttle bodies. We love how the copper finish of these is offset by the Corona’s green body color.

The 1GZ funnels power to the pavement via a 1UZ V8 clutch and flywheel assembly, a R154 five-speed manual gearbox that connects via a swap adapter, and an Altezza LSD-equipped rear end. We are happy to report the Toyota is a runner as the accompanying shakedown video attests to. The footage provides good visuals but it’s the soundtrack that really puts you in a trance. Check out that throttle linkage really work to open up and let the beast loose. Enjoy.