From daily-driver to turbo showstopper: Toyota Mark II JZX110
Inspired by a build from Australia, Imtiaz decided to graft the front end of the Mark II’s wagon sibling, the Blit, onto his sedan
The Mark II JZX110 is quite a staple in the petrolhead community– A long rear wheel drive sedan with one of the indestructible JZ block engines, it just sounds of music to one's ears no? Today I would love to bring your attention to such an example from Chittagong.
Imtiaz Jahan bought the Mark II in 2023, there wasn't anything radical about it. It was a tidy, school-driven car that had clearly been well looked after. But Imtiaz isn't the type to leave a canvas blank.
As the owner of OEM Auto Parts Chattogram, a business that has been importing Mark II parts since 2020, he had already spent years around the 110-series platform. "I've always had a soft spot for the 110," he says. "We've brought in so many parts for it that I ended up getting attached to the car before I even owned one."
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The attachment quickly turned into ambition. The first idea was something few would dare attempt locally—a Blit face conversion. Inspired by a build from Australia, Imtiaz decided to graft the front end of the Mark II's wagon sibling, the Blit, onto his sedan. It was a daring move in a market where genuine Blit (the wagon variant of the X110 Mark II series) are a rare sight. "Blit-faced Mark IIs are extremely rare here," he says. "We barely have a few genuine Blit in the country, so I knew it would stand out."
The car itself was already special. It was a Fortuna Yamaha Edition, the sportiest trim Toyota offered for the Mark II. Thus, it already had a solid base to begin with. But with the new front end, it looked sharper, more aggressive, and unlike other 110 on the street.
Then came what Imtiaz casually refers to as his "stance phase." The stock suspension made way for air suspension, transforming the Mark II into a proper showpiece. With a press of a button, it could drop so low it seemed to melt into the pavement. Sitting on rare Enkei Algernon 3-piece wheels—17x8 in front and 8.5 at the back, with offsets of +21 and +11—it looked every bit the attention-grabber it was meant to be. "It completely changed the car's personality," he recalls. "It was low, loud, and turned heads everywhere it went."
Of course, there comes a time when form gives way to function. "I use the car for family drives too," Eventually, the air suspension had to go, replaced with standard shocks for the sake of comfort and reliability. Coilovers are next on his list, to strike the right balance between comfort and sportiness.
While the visual transformations caught most of the attention, the real magic happened under the hood. The Mark II received a 1JZ-GTE swap from a JZX110 CKD donor—a proper turbo straight-six that changed the car's character entirely.
"Perfecting the swap took the longest," Imtiaz explains. "Every detail had to be right from wiring and fitment to cooling." The effort paid off. The third generation 1JZ-GTE was the first JZ engine to come with continuously variable valve timing mechanism (VVT-i). Additionally, it received modified water jackets for improved cylinder cooling and newly developed shims with a titanium nitride coating for reduced cam friction and a supposedly 10% efficient single turbo.
Thus, on paper, the engine produced a maximum of 276 bhp at 6,200 rpm and 379 Nm of torque at 2,400 rpm– enough to slide the car at every turn or reach top speeds at the blink of an eye.
The final outcome was a build that had the performance and attitude to match its aggressive looks, turning what had once been a modest sedan into a car that could genuinely back up its presence.
At one point, the car also wore a TRD kit, adding sportier lines and a cleaner OEM+ aesthetic. Each stage of its evolution, Imtiaz says, taught him something new—not just about the car, but about finding balance between aesthetics, performance, and everyday usability. "Every phase has its own vibe," he reflects. "From subtle and clean to bold and head-turning."
Even now, after two years of steady transformation, Imtiaz doesn't consider the project finished. "It never really ends," he admits. "Every day, there's something new to tweak or improve." Next on the list is a high-quality respray, a wider wheel setup, and more mechanical fine-tuning to make the car feel as refined as it looks. "At this point, I just want to make it perfect and classy," he says.
It's rare for a car to carry so many different personalities and still hold onto its charm, but this Mark II manages to do exactly that. Whether it's sitting stock height or tucking lip on air, wearing a TRD kit or a Blit face, the car somehow always looks right. It's been a show car, a daily, and a family cruiser—all while retaining the essence of what made the JZX110 platform special in the first place.
