Toyota's Most Famous Four-Cylinder Engine Just Got Revived

For Toyota, the inline-four is like a signature dish, one its defining specialties. Over the years, Toyota has made some of the most reliable, exciting, and economical four-cylinder engines the world has ever seen. In the 90s, one of its most loved four pots was the 4A-GE 1.6-liter twin-cam engine. Thanks to its rev-happy nature, people call it one of the most soulful four-cylinder engines ever made. Powering various Toyota models throughout the years, it was a high performance engine through and through.

To much fanfare, Toyota has announced that the 4A-GE is soon going to join the GR (Gazoo Racing) Heritage Parts scheme, with old components reproduced alongside new ones. With over 40 years of feedback and the advantage of modern machining techniques, some parts will be improved. For instance, the cylinder heads will feature thicker walls for better durability. 

Starting in Japan in May 2026, the reproduced parts will gradually make their way to other parts of the world as well. The announcement came during the 30th anniversary celebration of the drifting-based anime Initial D at Fuji Speedway in Japan. Initial D features some really cool cars, and its main protagonist, Takumi Fujiwara, famously drives an AE86 Toyota Sprinter Trueno.

We're seeing more and more automakers introduce official channels to reproduce spares for their older models. Programs like JLR Classic, Mercedes Classic, and Porsche Classic all serve to build brand loyalty, preserve heritage value, and keep enthusiasts of older cars happy. Toyota's GR Heritage parts program is very much in the same spirit, ensuring that legendary cars live on for decades to come.

Developed jointly with Yamaha, the 4A-GE acronym breaks down as follows: 4 marks the fourth revision of the A series block, G denotes the performance heads courtesy of Yamaha, and E stands for electronic fuel injection, back in the days when acronyms actually carried meaning and packed useful information.

For starters, it is one of the best-sounding four-cylinder engines ever made. Secondly, given its compact dimensions and light weight, it packed plenty of punch. The 4A-GE produced 112 horsepower in its early years, featuring four valves per cylinder. Later updates pushed output to 160 horsepower with five valves per cylinder and a screaming 8,000 rpm redline, courtesy of its one-to-one bore to stroke ratio. The AE86 Sprinter Trueno became Keiichi Tsuchiya's weapon of choice, helping him earn the title of Drift King.

Being a legendary engine in the tuner world, it has immense aftermarket support, and being a Toyota engine, it can handle a lot. Tuners could easily extract 200 hp at the wheels without a lot of tuning, which is a remarkable figure for a naturally aspirated 1.6-liter engine.