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V12-Swapped, Mid-Engined Toyota HiAce Van Is Part Ex-Taxi, Part Lamborghini Aventador

Please don't ever, EVER, doubt what a group of people with knowledge and time at their disposal are capable of accomplishing. Because the end result of what they can muster can boggle the mind even more than what established automakers can come up with. Don't believe us? Keep reading.
V12 Toyota 12 photos
Photo: Sebring Racing Studio
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If not for the classic one, two punch of skill and time, this mid-engined, V12-powered Toyota HiAce, which comes to us from the South African team of Sebring Racing Studio, may never have existed. Not a place that sees too many high-end sports cars driving out and about. So why not make your own custom supercar out of what you have lying around? That's the mentality at the heart and soul of this build.

Superficially, at least, this Toyota HiAce isn't much more than an excellent red paint job and an obnoxious body kit. Anyone who isn't a petrolhead would write it off as just that. But god almighty, the levels of wrong in that sentiment are so vast it could have a gravitational pull. Let's start with the most obvious thing that makes this van more than a body kit and some paint.

The custom-mounted, five-liter Toyota V12 (1GZ-FE) engine that finds its way into the middle of this van is essentially two 1JZ six-cylinder engines fused together via a common engine block. If that wasn't overkill enough, two Billet T3/T4 turbochargers were added to give it some more supercar credentials. The builders of this van intended to fuse together a van commonly used as a taxi in South Africa and merge it with their favorite 21st-century supercar, the Lamborghini Aventador. Assuming they were sincere in this goal, well, mission accomplished a hundred times over.

What engine swap would be complete without a couple of performance-tuned goodies. Starting with a TCI Streetfighter three-speed automatic gearbox which Sebring Racing Studio claims is good for 750hp. The fantastic engines' power is fed through a Ford Mustang GT rear end and kept on the road with massive performance tires all around. Twelve Porsche 997 Carerra 350cc injectors with a Maxx ECU tune make for a package guaranteed not to be found anywhere else in the world.

According to the SRS Facebook page, the custom tune and aftermarket performance parts make for an engine that accelerates just like a naturally aspirated engine, with little to no lag to speak of from the two turbochargers. As of the team's Facebook listing date for this van, the interior had yet to be finished, but you do get a pair of Sparco R33 seats to keep your rear end firmly in place.

An initial asking price of R1,195,000 translates to roughly $77,202 and some change. For the amount of custom work on display here, we're surprised they didn't ask for more, and whoever wound up with it paid an excellent price indeed.
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