#8 OLD JAPANESE CARS: 1965 TOYOTA 2000 GT

In 1965 the Toyota 2000GT made its first appearance at the Tokyo Motor Show.
The limited-production 2-seat hardtop coupe GT was a joint venture of Toyota and Yamaha.
Manufactured by the latter from 1967 through 1970 was exclusive to Toyota’s Japanese retail sales channel.

The majority of the design work was done by Yamaha who were also partnering with other Japanese car makers such as Nissan who the initial design of the 2000GT was made for to modernise the 2-seater Fairlady.
Nissan declined Yamaha’s proposal hence they offered it to Toyota who in order to improve company’s image decided to make the car.

‘Japanese E-type’ was fitted with the 2.0-litre straight-6 motor which with the help of Yamaha delivered a power of 150 bhp.
Nine special MF-12 models were also built with the larger 2.3 straight-6 engine which was rated at the lower power output of 140 bhp.

The car was built to show that Toyota could produce a sports car that can compete with the better European brands. The success of the car changed the view on Japan as the automotive producer for the better.
Today, the 2000GT is seen as one of the most significant and collectible Japanese cars, and often the first Japanese supercar.
Only 351 examples were ever built making the car truly special and valued at as much as $1.2M