# Toyota M engine

The Toyota M engine family was a series of longitudinally mounted straight-six gasoline engines produced by Toyota Motor Corporation, used chiefly in the Crown, Mark II, and Supra model lines.<sup>[1](https://cavac.at/cavacopedia/Toyota%20M%20engine)</sup> Toyota's own 75-year vehicle lineage records the in-line six-cylinder M family from 1965.<sup>[2](https://www.toyota-global.com/company/history_of_toyota/75years/vehicle_lineage/engine/gasoline/m.html)</sup> Over roughly three decades the family grew from a pushrod-era Crown engine into twin-cam 2.8- and 3.0-liter units that powered Toyota's flagship sports cars, before the clean-sheet JZ family replaced it in the early 1990s.<sup>[3](https://www.motortrend.com/features/toyota-2jzgte-engine)</sup>

| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Configuration | Longitudinally mounted straight-six gasoline engine family<sup>[1](https://cavac.at/cavacopedia/Toyota%20M%20engine)</sup> |
| Production span | Recorded in Toyota's engine lineage from 1965<sup>[2](https://www.toyota-global.com/company/history_of_toyota/75years/vehicle_lineage/engine/gasoline/m.html)</sup> |
| First headline application | 3M DOHC 2.0-liter in the Toyota 2000GT, 150 hp, developed with Yamaha<sup>[4](https://mag.toyota.co.uk/toyota-2000gt-history/)</sup> |
| Twin-cam flagship of the 1980s | 5M-GE, 2.8-liter DOHC, introduced with the A60 Celica XX in July 1981<sup>[5](https://mag.toyota.co.uk/history-of-the-toyota-supra/comment-page-1/)</sup> |
| Final generation | 7M-GE and 7M-GTE, in-line six-cylinder 3.0-liter DOHC 24-valve engines<sup>[6](https://toyotaspace.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Toyota-7M-GE-Engine.pdf)</sup> |
| 7M production years | 1986 to 1992, installed in the Supra, Chaser, Crown, and Mark II<sup>[7](https://mymotorlist.com/models/toyota-supra/)</sup> |
| Supra service | M-series engines powered the Supra from 1979 to 1992<sup>[8](https://www.supramania.com/threads/deciphering-toyota-engine-and-chassis-codes.1089/)</sup> |

## Origins: the Crown M and the 2000GT's 3M

The M engine was originally developed for the [Toyota Crown](https://www.edgepedia.org/toyota-crown), Toyota's senior sedan line.<sup>[9](https://www.toyota-global.com/company/history_of_toyota/75years/text/entering_the_automotive_business/chapter1/section3/item2.html)</sup> Its first prominent outing came in the [Toyota 2000GT](https://www.edgepedia.org/toyota-2000gt), the company's showcase sports car of the mid-1960s. For that car Toyota took the M engine being developed for the Crown and improved it into the 3M, adopting DOHC valve gear.<sup>[9](https://www.toyota-global.com/company/history_of_toyota/75years/text/entering_the_automotive_business/chapter1/section3/item2.html)</sup>

Because the 2000GT was built in small numbers with careful hand finishing, Toyota outsourced its prototyping and production to Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd., then known for motorcycle racing.<sup>[9](https://www.toyota-global.com/company/history_of_toyota/75years/text/entering_the_automotive_business/chapter1/section3/item2.html)</sup> Yamaha was primarily responsible for improving engine performance and for detailed design of the body and chassis under Toyota's direction.<sup>[10](https://global.yamaha-motor.com/stories/history/stories/0012.html)</sup> The production 3M was a 2.0-liter DOHC straight six producing 150 hp, and it powered the 2000GT to a top speed of 220 km/h.<sup>[4](https://mag.toyota.co.uk/toyota-2000gt-history/)</sup> The Toyota Automobile Museum's account likewise describes the unit as the Crown's 2,000 cc SOHC M-type straight six converted to DOHC by Yamaha, producing 150 ps and 18.0 kg·m of torque.<sup>[11](https://toyota-automobile-museum.jp/assets/pdf/archives/magazine/magazine_76.pdf)</sup>

## The 5M-GE and the Supra years

The M family became closely identified with the Supra. Toyota introduced the Celica Supra in 1979, and M-series engines powered the model through 1992.<sup>[12](https://pressroom.toyota.com/?generate_pdf=47349)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[8](https://www.supramania.com/threads/deciphering-toyota-engine-and-chassis-codes.1089/)</sup>

**The twin-cam arrives.** The next step for both the Supra and the M family was the 5M-GE, which debuted in 1981.<sup>[13](https://motoryzacja.interia.pl/wiadomosci/news-silniki-ktore-napedzily-legende-toyoty-supry%2CnId%2C3187168)</sup> The A60 Celica XX launched in Japan in July 1981, and its long wheelbase and stretched front end again allowed Toyota to fit a straight-six, in this case the new 2.8-liter 5M-GE flagship twin-cam engine.<sup>[5](https://mag.toyota.co.uk/history-of-the-toyota-supra/comment-page-1/)</sup> The second-generation Supra, which arrived in 1982 as the A60 Celica (MkII) Supra, used this 2.8-liter 5M-GE twin-cam straight-six.<sup>[14](https://pressroom.toyota.com/?generate_pdf=84871)</sup> The 5M-GE still displaced 2.8 liters but now sported double overhead cams.<sup>[12](https://pressroom.toyota.com/?generate_pdf=47349)</sup>

Export coverage of the 5M was uneven. Most export markets received only the 2.8-liter engine, although Australian buyers got the older SOHC 5M with only 140 hp.<sup>[15](https://parts.olathetoyota.com/blog/4937/mk-2-supra-history)</sup> In Japan the M family also appeared in the Celica XX from 1982 to 1986.<sup>[1](https://cavac.at/cavacopedia/Toyota%20M%20engine)</sup>

## The 7M-GE and 7M-GTE

The final M generation was the 7M. The 7M-GE and 7M-GTE are in-line six-cylinder 3.0-liter DOHC 24-valve engines, described as such in Toyota's own service literature for the 1990 Supra.<sup>[6](https://toyotaspace.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Toyota-7M-GE-Engine.pdf)</sup> The 7M-GE was produced from 1986 to 1992 and was installed in the Supra, Chaser, Crown, and [Mark II](https://www.edgepedia.org/mark-ii).<sup>[7](https://mymotorlist.com/models/toyota-supra/)</sup> Toyota developed the M family further by placing the 3.0-liter 7M-GE and 7M-GTE in the third-generation Supra.<sup>[13](https://motoryzacja.interia.pl/wiadomosci/news-silniki-ktore-napedzily-legende-toyoty-supry%2CnId%2C3187168)</sup>

**Turbocharging.** In mid-1986 the Celica and Supra officially separated into their own model lines, and the newly independent Mark III Supra became a showcase for Toyota technology.<sup>[16](https://www.supra.com.hk/history/hist-gen4.html)</sup> The new engine for 1987 was a turbocharged version of the 7M-GE, labeled the 7M-GTE.<sup>[16](https://www.supra.com.hk/history/hist-gen4.html)</sup>

## Replacement by the JZ family

The M family's Supra career ended in 1992, when the model's engines gave way to the JZ family.<sup>[8](https://www.supramania.com/threads/deciphering-toyota-engine-and-chassis-codes.1089/)</sup> The successor was not an evolution of the 7M: the 2JZ-GTE was a clean-sheet design, wholly independent of the preceding Supra's 7M-GTE, and in the United States it was available only in the 1993 to 1998 Supra Turbo models.<sup>[3](https://www.motortrend.com/features/toyota-2jzgte-engine)</sup> In Japan the 2JZ-GTE was introduced in 1991 under the Toyota Aristo and remained in select Japanese Supras until the model's discontinuation in 2002.<sup>[3](https://www.motortrend.com/features/toyota-2jzgte-engine)</sup>

## Applications

Models carrying M-family engines include:

- Toyota Crown, the line the M was originally developed for, and a 7M-GE installation market<sup>[9](https://www.toyota-global.com/company/history_of_toyota/75years/text/entering_the_automotive_business/chapter1/section3/item2.html)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[7](https://mymotorlist.com/models/toyota-supra/)</sup>
- Toyota 2000GT, with the 3M<sup>[4](https://mag.toyota.co.uk/toyota-2000gt-history/)</sup>
- Celica Supra / Supra, from 1979 to 1992 across the M, 5M-GE, 7M-GE, and 7M-GTE<sup>[8](https://www.supramania.com/threads/deciphering-toyota-engine-and-chassis-codes.1089/)</sup>
- Celica XX (Japan), including 1982 to 1986<sup>[1](https://cavac.at/cavacopedia/Toyota%20M%20engine)</sup>
- Mark II and Chaser, as 7M-GE installations<sup>[7](https://mymotorlist.com/models/toyota-supra/)</sup>

## Legacy

The M family's reputation today rests largely on its Supra service and on the contrast with its successor. The family's starting point, the 3M in the 2000GT, remains one of the best-documented [Toyota engines](https://www.edgepedia.org/list-of-toyota-engines) of the 1960s, having powered the car that set three world records and 13 international records during the 1966 Yatabe speed trials.<sup>[9](https://www.toyota-global.com/company/history_of_toyota/75years/text/entering_the_automotive_business/chapter1/section3/item2.html)</sup>

## References

1. [Toyota M engine, Cavacopedia](https://cavac.at/cavacopedia/Toyota%20M%20engine)
2. [75 Years of TOYOTA, Vehicle Lineage, Engine type: M](https://www.toyota-global.com/company/history_of_toyota/75years/vehicle_lineage/engine/gasoline/m.html)
3. [Toyota's 2JZ-GTE Engine: Everything You Need to Know, MotorTrend](https://www.motortrend.com/features/toyota-2jzgte-engine)
4. [Toyota 2000GT, history of a Japanese icon, Toyota UK Magazine](https://mag.toyota.co.uk/toyota-2000gt-history/)
5. [History of the Toyota Supra, Toyota UK Magazine](https://mag.toyota.co.uk/history-of-the-toyota-supra/comment-page-1/)
6. [1990 Toyota Supra Factory Repair Manual, 7M-GE engine section](https://toyotaspace.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Toyota-7M-GE-Engine.pdf)
7. [Toyota Supra engines: specs, problems, MyMotorList](https://mymotorlist.com/models/toyota-supra/)
8. [Deciphering Toyota Engine and Chassis Codes, Supramania](https://www.supramania.com/threads/deciphering-toyota-engine-and-chassis-codes.1089/)
9. [75 Years of TOYOTA, Part2 Chapter1 Section3 Item 2: Development of Sports Cars](https://www.toyota-global.com/company/history_of_toyota/75years/text/entering_the_automotive_business/chapter1/section3/item2.html)
10. [Our Stories: 12 Toyota 2000GT, from Trial Production to Manufacturing, Yamaha Motor](https://global.yamaha-motor.com/stories/history/stories/0012.html)
11. [TOYOTA Automobile Museum magazine No. 76, Toyota 2000GT MF10](https://toyota-automobile-museum.jp/assets/pdf/archives/magazine/magazine_76.pdf)
12. [Supra Chronology, Toyota Pressroom](https://pressroom.toyota.com/?generate_pdf=47349)
13. [Silniki, które napędziły legendę Toyoty Supry, Interia Motoryzacja](https://motoryzacja.interia.pl/wiadomosci/news-silniki-ktore-napedzily-legende-toyoty-supry%2CnId%2C3187168)
14. [Supra history visual element, Toyota Pressroom](https://pressroom.toyota.com/?generate_pdf=84871)
15. [Double-X Take Two: The 1982–1985 Celica XX, Toyota Parts Center](https://parts.olathetoyota.com/blog/4937/mk-2-supra-history)
16. [Supra History MK III, HK Supra Club](https://www.supra.com.hk/history/hist-gen4.html)

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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Technology and the built world › Transport and spaceflight › Road transport › Automobiles › Automobile engines › Japanese engines*

*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 15, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 15, 2026 · Last review: Oct 15, 2026*

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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license