Photo: Reddit User "Rare-Match-8243"
A Reddit user shared his “jungle” discovery with the rest of the world, and it turns out it’s an old Toyota Aristo, otherwise known as the Lexus GS 300 in the United States. From what has been shown in the photos, it still has its original 2JZ-GTE engine many people hold in the best of regards.
Toyota's plan for the Lexus GS 300 model was to initially test it in their home market, and then send it to North America. The company worked with Italdesign on its aesthetics, and from 1991, it ran the streets of Japan under the name of the Toyota Aristo. After everything was fine and dandy, it finally came to the United States in 1993 under the Lexus GS 300 nameplate and badge.
It was supposed to compete with heavyweights like the BMW 5-Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class. Everything worked out as planned for Toyota, and it was a hit among the red-blooded Americans.
However stylish as it was, the real jewel was hidden under the hood. Considered one of the top six-cylinder powerplants ever made, the 2JZ engine was so well designed that it could withstand insane amounts of power. Some tuners supposedly took this engine and bumped it all the way to 800 and even 1,500 horsepower (1,520 ps). I said insane, didn’t I?
Nonetheless, don’t go thinking the stock versions were anywhere close to that. At the time, there was a gentlemen’s agreement going on between car manufacturers in Japan. To try and reduce the rising number of auto accidents, they basically agreed to limit the power of their engines to 276 hp (280 ps). As a result, the 2JZ was severely underpowered compared to its full potential.
Initially designed for the Toyota Supra A80, the engine came in two variants. The naturally aspirated 2JZ-GE that could output 220 hp (223 ps) with 210 lb-ft (285 Nm) or torque, and the twin-turbocharged 2JZ-GTE that produced 276 hp (280 ps) with 318 lb-ft (431 Nm) of torque.
Now coming back from that blast into Japan’s past to our little engine that could, from the information given in the Reddit post, it seems that this model is a 1993 Toyota Aristo that rocks the 3.0-liter twin-turbo 2JZ-GTE engine.
To say that this car wasn’t kept in good condition would be an understatement. But given what it would cost to fix the entire thing, maybe it would be a better idea just to sell the engine all by itself. Well, after it’s been brought to tip-top shape, I mean.
It was supposed to compete with heavyweights like the BMW 5-Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class. Everything worked out as planned for Toyota, and it was a hit among the red-blooded Americans.
However stylish as it was, the real jewel was hidden under the hood. Considered one of the top six-cylinder powerplants ever made, the 2JZ engine was so well designed that it could withstand insane amounts of power. Some tuners supposedly took this engine and bumped it all the way to 800 and even 1,500 horsepower (1,520 ps). I said insane, didn’t I?
Nonetheless, don’t go thinking the stock versions were anywhere close to that. At the time, there was a gentlemen’s agreement going on between car manufacturers in Japan. To try and reduce the rising number of auto accidents, they basically agreed to limit the power of their engines to 276 hp (280 ps). As a result, the 2JZ was severely underpowered compared to its full potential.
Initially designed for the Toyota Supra A80, the engine came in two variants. The naturally aspirated 2JZ-GE that could output 220 hp (223 ps) with 210 lb-ft (285 Nm) or torque, and the twin-turbocharged 2JZ-GTE that produced 276 hp (280 ps) with 318 lb-ft (431 Nm) of torque.
Now coming back from that blast into Japan’s past to our little engine that could, from the information given in the Reddit post, it seems that this model is a 1993 Toyota Aristo that rocks the 3.0-liter twin-turbo 2JZ-GTE engine.
To say that this car wasn’t kept in good condition would be an understatement. But given what it would cost to fix the entire thing, maybe it would be a better idea just to sell the engine all by itself. Well, after it’s been brought to tip-top shape, I mean.
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