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You have to be a certain kind of crazy to do an engine swap on a Rolls-Royce. We’ve written about this Rolls before — our James Gilboy shared a story back in August on this 2JZ powered Rolls-Royce Phantom, but details were relatively scarce. This time, a feature with Tokyo Tuner introduces us to Yajima-san, the proud owner of this Phantom for the past eight years.
When his Roll’s sophisticated V12 started to give him some expensive issues, he opted to do a daring engine swap with the tried and true Mk 4 Toyota Supra 2JZ GTE motor rather than pay for the hefty repair bill of the V12. According to Yajima-san, the 2JZ is a stronger engine that also enjoys plenty of aftermarket support. What’s more, upkeep is less painful should the 2JZ break.
Clearly evident from the turbo setup under the hood, Yajima-san wasted no time to make his 2J into a monster. Yajima-san stressed it was important for the 2JZ to be powerful and claims it should be making somewhere around 700 horsepower, which is more than adequate motivation for the Phantom.
To this day, Yajima-san continues to drive his Phantom daily, for both work and pleasure. However, he’s also keen to explore how well his 2JZ Phantom will perform on the drag strip and would even consider purchasing a second Phantom to convert into a drift car. It’s safe to say you won’t find another Rolls-Royce owner quite like Yajima-san.
As bulletproof and powerful as the 2JZ is, I personally feel the rowdy engine note and overall characteristic of the turbocharged inline-six doesn’t quite match the stately elegance of the Phantom. Still, it’s a joy to see a Frankenstein such as this thrive in the streets of Tokyo and I definitely admire Yajima’s enthusiasm to create something different.
Check out the video from Tokyo Tuner below:
