A sensuously curvaceous hand-made aluminum body, a high-performance dual overhead cam engine, multiple carburetors, a stylishly wood-trimmed dash loaded with gauges, and valued at over a million dollars. What type of sixties era sports car could this be? Jaguar? Ferrari? Maserati? Toyota?......Wait a minute. Toyota? Yes, the Toyota 2000GT. Let me explain.
In the mid-sixties Toyota was known for building inexpensive economy cars. The company wanted to make a statement to the world that Toyota was capable of building a world-class high-performance sports car. In 1965 they started producing a tiny light-weight, 2 cylinder sports car named the Sports 800 for their home market, but the big news that year was when the sleek 2000GT debuted at the Tokyo Motor Show. The car would make it to production in 1967, and was built in limited numbers until 1970. Only 62 of the approximately 343 cars produced would be sold in the U.S.
The 2000GT was a collaborative effort between Toyota and Yamaha. Toyota designer Satoru Nozaki styled the car’s shapely body, and Yamaha developed the engine. Using the in-line 2.0 6 cylinder block from the Toyota Crown, Yamaha engineers designed a dual overhead cam head for the motor. Three Mikuni-Solex 40phh side-draft carburetors, four-wheel power assisted disc brakes, a limited-slip rear end, and a 5-speed gearbox were all very advanced features in 1967. The 150 horsepower engine was powerful enough to allow it to reach speeds of over 130 miles per hour. The elegant and sporty interior featured a host of gauges, and was trimmed beautifully in wood, benefiting from Yamaha’s experience with building fine violins and pianos. All the cars were built at Yamaha. Toyota’s plant was geared for mass-production, and Yamaha’s vacillates were better suited for producing low volume hand-made products.
The car received some publicity when Carroll Shelby purchased three 2000GTs and campaigned them successfully for the 1968 SCCA racing season. A convertible was featured in the James Bond film You Only Live Twice. The convertible version was never made for production, and the movie car did not have a folding top.
All this begs the question, why did these beautifully styled, high-performance cars not sell better in the U.S.? One of the reasons could be its lofty price tag of around $7000, enough money in 1967 to drive off in a new Porsche or Corvette. Also, buyers were hesitant to spend that kind of money on a car made in Japan. At the time, “made in Japan” was equated to cheaply made products. The pedigree and cache of an established automobile manufacturer was considered a sounder investment. Little did anyone know then that the 2000GT would become recognized as the first Japanese supercar, and it's styling and mechanical virtues would be appreciated so much that collectors are now willing to pay over $1,000,000 for a pristine example.
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