Toyota 2000GT

The Toyota 2000GT is a rare, front mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive, two-door, two-seat sports car and grand tourer, a joint project between Toyota and Yamaha. It first appeared at the 1965 Tokyo Motor Show, and Yamaha built the cars under contract from 1967 to 1970. In Japan, Toyota sold it exclusively through its Toyota Store retail channel, positioning it as a halo car for the brand.

Before the 2000GT, the world saw Japan as a maker of copied, dull, and practical vehicles. This sleek, high-performance fastback coupé changed that perception, proving Japanese companies could build a sports car that competed with Europe’s best. In a 1967 review of a pre-production model, *Road & Track* called it “one of the most exciting and enjoyable cars we’ve driven” and compared it favorably to the Porsche 911. Today, many consider the 2000GT the first seriously collectible Japanese car, and some call it Japan’s first supercar—though others argue the later Honda NSX deserves that title. In 2013, an example sold at auction for US$1,200,000.

During the late 1950s and early 1960s, car ownership in Japan was rising, and Toyota noticed that most global automakers had a top-tier sports car or grand tourer to draw customers into showrooms and boost sales of cheaper models. Ford had the Thunderbird, Chrysler the C-300, Chevrolet the Corvette. In Europe, Mercedes-Benz offered the 300SL, BMW the 507, Porsche the 356, Jaguar the E-Type, Aston Martin the DB4, Ferrari the 250 GT Coupé, and Maserati the 3500 GT. In Japan, Nissan had the Datsun Sports, Honda the S500, and Prince the Skyline Sport Coupé. Toyota already produced the Sports 800, but its engine was too small for a world-class sports car, so the company decided it needed a proper six-cylinder coupé.

Yamaha did most of the 2000GT’s design. The company had set up a Technical Research Institute in 1959 to develop its own sports car, building the YX30 with a 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine inspired by the British MGA B-Series 1600 DOHC. After various problems, Yamaha’s senior management closed the research facility in 1962, but enthusiasm for a sports car led them to partner with an established automaker. They built a prototype called the A550X, but Nissan—for whom Yamaha also did contract work—cancelled the project and introduced the slow-selling Nissan Silvia coupé in 1965. Yamaha then proposed the design to Toyota, then seen as the most conservative Japanese carmaker. Wanting to improve its image, Toyota accepted but used a design by its own stylist, Satoru Nozaki.

Nozaki’s styling, inspired by the Jaguar E-Type, incorporated classic 1960s Gran Turismo elements. The bodywork flowed smoothly, with pop-up headlights above large plexiglass-covered driving lamps flanking the grille, similar to the Toyota Sports 800. Bumpers were minimal, and the car stood just 116 cm (45.7 in) tall at the roof’s highest point. Although a custom open-top version was built for the James Bond film *You Only Live Twice*, no factory convertible was ever offered.

Inside, the cabin was comfortable but cramped, with luxury touches like walnut or rosewood veneer dashboard inlays—made by Yamaha’s musical instrument woodworking division—and an auto-signal seeking radio tuner. *Road & Track* praised the interior as suited to a “luxurious GT” and called the 2000GT an impressive car “in which to sit or ride—or simply admire.” An electric clock and a stopwatch sat in the dashboard below the radio and above the climate controls.

In August 1969, the front end was slightly revised: the driving lamps became smaller, the turn signals changed shape, and the rear turn signals were enlarged. Some interior updates modernized the cabin. The last few cars offered air conditioning and an optional automatic transmission; these had an extra scoop under the grille to feed air to the A/C unit.

The engine was a longitudinally mounted 1,988 cc straight-six (the 3M) from the Toyota Crown sedan. Yamaha transformed it into a sports car engine by adding a new DOHC head and three 2-barrel Mikuni-Solex 40 PHH carburetors, producing 150 PS (148 bhp; 110 kW) at 6,600 rpm and 175 N·m (129 lb·ft) at 5,000 rpm. Nine special MF-12 models used the larger but lower-output SOHC 2.3 L 2M-B engine, making 140 PS (138 bhp; 103 kW) at 5,800 rpm and 201 N·m (148 lb·ft) at 3,800 rpm.

The rear-wheel-drive car came with a five-speed manual transmission and three different final drive options. A 4.375 ratio axle was claimed to reach 135 mph (217 km/h) and achieve 7.59 L/100 km (31 mpg‑US; 37 mpg‑imp). A limited-slip differential and power-assisted disc brakes on all four wheels—a first for a Japanese car—were standard. The suspension used coil springs with double wishbones at all four corners, mounted on a backbone chassis, and the car rode on 15-inch magnesium alloy wheels. It was also Toyota’s first model with rack-and-pinion steering, intended to establish it as a world-class sports car. A dashboard-mounted emergency brake gripped the rear discs directly if the primary brakes failed.

Only 337 regular production models were built.