6 Quirky Engines You Probably Didn't Realise Existed

Toyota 1GZ-FE

Believe it or not, there is such a thing as a Toyota V12. It’s called the 1GZ-FE, and it’s only ever powered one production car: the Japan-only Toyota Century a car beloved by government figures and the Yakuza alike.

This under-stressed 5.0-litre, 48-valve lump puts out a modest 305bhp and 355lb ft, although a heavily modified twin-turbo example developing 1000bhp appeared in the famous Top Secret Supra.

Cizeta-Moroder V16T

If there were a prize for the weirdest supercar engine ever made, the Cizeta-Moroder V16T would probably win it. This extremely low-volume supercar of the 1990s used two Lamborghini Uracco V8s sharing a single block to create a ‘V16’ with eight camshafts, which was then mounted transversely.

If that sounds bonkers, that’s because it is. Thoroughly bonkers. Then again, that’s to be expected for a vehicle with such peculiar origins - the car was a joint venture between engineer Claudio Zampolli and Giorgio Moroder. Yep, the Italian electronic music bloke.

This unconventional engine powered the rear wheels via a five-speed manual, and gave a top speed of 204mph.

Motori Moderni Subaru flat-12

A flat-12 configuration is something very rare indeed, and was most notably used for the Ferrari Testarossa and Porsche 917. However, one flat-12 most don’t know about was actually badged as a Subaru engine.

The 3.5-litre was built by Motori Moderni for the 1990 Subaru Coloni F1 car, and it looks rather spectacular. Unfortunately, its on track performance was anything but - apparently producing ‘just’ 500bhp or so it was way down on power compared to the rest of the field, and the car it was fitted to didn’t qualify for a race even once.

It would have been the slowest car of the year, had it not been for the even more disastrous Life F1 machine. Speaking of which…

Life W12

You know VW Group’s W12, which is really just a V12 with slightly angled and staggered pistons on two cylinder banks? This is nothing like that. Nothing at all.

The Life W12 instead uses three cylinder banks housing four pistons apiece. And while innovative, it was a complete turd. It produced around 400bhp (some say less), and like the Coloni Subaru, failed to qualify for a single race.

The Life car was closer to the performance of Formula 3 cars of the time, and was often 20 seconds off the pace.

The low point that sums up Life’s sorry time in F1 came on one race weekend when the car ground to a halt a few hundred metres from the pits, because the mechanics had gone on strike and refused to put any oil in the car. And you thought Hispania Racing was bad…

Chevrolet Corvair flat-10

V10 engines are rare in production cars, but how about flat 10s? We’ve only been able to find one, produced by Chevrolet.

It was an experimental engine based on the Corvair’s flat-six, put to use in a Impala while Chevrolet mulled over the prospect of expanding the Corvair brand. It never made it past the prototype stage, which is why it’s so unheard of today.

Mazda 20B

Rotary engines are already an obscure thing in the motoring industry, but as far as three rotor units go, just one found its way to a production car: the Mazda 20B.

It was used only in the ‘JC’ series Eunos Cosmo, and thanks to the addition of a sequential turbocharger setup, the 2.0-litre unit produces 300bhp.

Any weird engines you think deserve a mention? Let us know in the comments!