Crown Eight News Today

If you’re not from Japan, you probably never heard about the Toyota Century. Since the late-1960s, the luxury sedan has been the manufacturer’s flagship car for the domestic market, and from 1997 to 2007, it was powered by the company’s only series-production V12.

The 1960s saw the revival of Chrysler’s famed HEMI engine in the shape of a gargantuan 426-ci (7.0-liter) developed for NASCAR dominance. A year before its track debut, Toyota introduced its first series-production V8, which featured hemispherical combustion chambers.