Toyota 2000GT: challenging the status quo

By Mick Walsh

| 18 Apr 2025

Classic & Sports Car – Toyota 2000GT: challenging the status quo

What a difference 10 years can make.

In 1955, 700,000 visitors jostled around the open-air Tokyo motor show in Hibiya Park to admire such cast-off western designs as the Hillman Minx and Henry J, both of which were built under licence in Japan.

Fast-forward a decade, however, and it was a different world inside the Tokyo International Trade Center in Harumi.

The Toyota 2000GT S1 loves corners and is progressive on the limit

The talk of the ʼ65 show was a dazzling white coupé with a sleek fastback style and riding on glitzy chrome Borrani wires.

Keen Japanese car fans were made to ogle from behind the barriers, and Toyota wasn’t giving much away about specification other than its 2-litre capacity and plans for both road and race versions.

The more eagle-eyed car nut might have spotted a backbone chassis, independent suspension and disc brakes, but the chances of any of the 1.5 million visitors getting behind the wheel were slim.

This was to be a handbuilt, high-priced exotic, a flagship to prove that Toyota could build more than trusty Publicas and Crowns.

The cute 790cc Publica Sport had kicked off Toyotaʼs image upgrade a year earlier, but here was a dream GT to rival the best from Coventry, Stuttgart and Detroit.

Although its influences were clearly European, with blatant Jaguar E-type styling cues, the Toyota 2000GT was much more than a copycat and would prove considerably more exclusive than anything outside Modena.

More than half a century since the Yamaha works started delivering cars to showrooms, few western enthusiasts have even seen one, let alone driven an example.

Lucky members of the exclusive Toyota 2000GT driversʼ club are smitten by the most valuable Japanese car ever built, none more so than Peter Starr and Bob Tkacik.

In their immaculate workshop in Biddeford, USA, there are more 2000GTs than in the whole of Europe and more spares than Toyota itself has in stock.

The 2000GT S1’s Yamaha-built motor used a Toyota Crown engine block

Yet these retired car dealers are not blinkered obsessives: they could – and do – drive almost any Ferrari or Porsche.

But from all perspectives, be it engineering, build quality, styling or driving, they firmly believe the Toyota 2000GT is one of the best sports cars ever.

What better place to find out if they are right than the back-roads of Maine? Here, too, is a chance to tap their considerable knowledge and lay bare some myths about the designʼs origins.

Was it really based on a former Nissan concept car? And why is a famous German count continually miscredited with its styling?

But first letʼs see how the legendary Toyota 2000GT stacks up from behind the wheel.

The US market accounted for 62 of the 2000GTʼs total production of 337. Toyota had hoped to sell 1000 cars per year, and such overestimation is part of the reason why production was halted.

As a result, low-mileage cars such as ʻourʼ rare Bellatrix yellow coupé are still occasionally unearthed, but there are few 2000GTs Peter and Bob donʼt know of.

The first impression as you approach is of a Jaguar E-type that has shrunk in the rain, but look harder and its appeal is more subtle than that of the brash Brit.

Thin A-pillars maximise the wraparound windows, which reach an aggressive point at the rear.

The clean, sleek form has an individual signature, set off by chunky magnesium centre-lock wheels.

The Toyota 2000GT S2 MF12L has subtle changes compared to the S1, including a taller roofline

While the side profile is smooth and clean, the front and rear lose the plot a little – particularly the tail-light clusters, which could have come straight off a Toyota Crown saloon.

The lower headlights, set in a trapezoidal pod, and the grille could have been conceived in a ʼ50s LA custom shop. The secondary pop-up lights were a later feature to fulfil height regulations.

Slip into the low cockpit and the feel is more European.

The rosewood dashboard, with a neatly organised and comprehensive set of black-faced dials, the black three-spoke, mahogany-rimmed wheel and the stubby gearlever have the charm of a quality English independent, while the low, slim-fitting vinyl seats are thinly padded and more sporty.

Itʼs a snug fit for me; a six-footer such as Sean Connery would feel cramped, with scalp rubbing the black headlining.

Like the rest of the car, it all feels beautifully made. Clearly Yamahaʼs workers appreciated the chance to build something special for client Toyota.

Best of all is the way the 2000GT drives. The engineers at Toyota analysed the DNA of European rival offerings and dialled-in all of their best features.

No sports car passes muster without great steering, and the GTʼs rack is superbly weighted, blissfully accurate and full of feedback.

With just 2.7 turns from lock to lock itʼs as good as a Lotus, and ideal for the twists around Biddeford and Kennebunkport.

The Toyota 2000GT S2’s interior, with rosewood from Yamaha’s piano division

Good steering can help you forgive any car its failings, but the rest of the Toyota 2000GT matches its finesse.

The gearchange demands a positive action, but the throws are short and precise. Any stiffness at urban speeds smooths out at higher revs on open routes.

Bob is a great ambassador for the 2000GT and confidently encourages revving closer to the 7000rpm redline when we reach his favourite Oak Ridge Road.

Here the straight-six sounds and feels bigger than a 2-litre as it delivers clean punch and gutsy torque.

The block may have humble origins but, topped with Yamahaʼs twin-cam head and a trio of Mikuni 40 carburettors, revs like a tuned BMW ʻsixʼ. From apex to apex, it pulls hard through each gear and feels unburstable.

Better still, this 2000GT loves corners. With a low centre of gravity, high roll centre and the engine set well back in the chassis, the Toyota handles with thoroughbred poise.

It turns in superbly and sits flat. Bob reports that it drifts progressively on the limit: “Itʼs forgiving and controllable, you can see why it did so well in the SCCA.”

Only the brakes demand effort, because Bob prefers to remove the servos for a more direct pedal pressure.

Toyota claimed around 10 secs to 60mph but it feels quicker.

Wary of the local police (who thankfully know Bob), we find an open stretch with little traffic. Here, in the early morning, we let it run hard in the higher gears to see how it feels.

The Toyota 2000GT was a bold challenge to the established European car makers

With little wind noise and a rasping exhaust behind, the Toyota feels safe, supple and controlled.

The engine loves to rev, but I back off as we nudge 110mph in fourth – itʼs easy to see why Bob and Peter think nothing of long trips in the 2000GT.

Snick up to fifth and it becomes a relaxed high-speed cruiser in the class of an Italian exotic, with the bonus of the best vision of any GT Iʼve driven.

Itʼs hard to think of a feature to criticise – only the awkward pedal positioning spoils the controls, but that could be adjusted.

The seat feels too short, the hooked central handbrake is uncomfortably placed and the gap between first and second gears becomes more evident the more I drive, but these really are minor niggles.

Road & Track was one of few magazines to test the Toyota 2000GT.

ʻ[For] ride and handling, nobody in their right mind could need or want more in a road vehicle than the 2000GT has to offer,ʼ the report concluded.

ʻCornering is so easy as to make the usual vigorous driving almost dull.ʼ

After a diet of muscle-bound Chevrolet Corvettes and Ford Mustangs, it must have felt fantastic.

But convincing buyers to cough up $2000 more than for a Jaguar E-type would have been tough for American dealers.

The Toyota 2000GT S1’s details have a distinctly Japanese style

To see how Toyota planned to develop the 2000GT, Bob encourages me to try his Twilight turquoise S2, one of just seven built.

With a 2.3-litre single-cam Crown Type-R engine, a higher roof and a softer ride, this final version doesn’t quite have the exotic character of the original.

Gruffer, with meatier torque and more roll through the turns, it feels like a beautifully engineered, high-quality Datsun 240Z.

Air conditioning and automatic options indicate where the GT was heading. After the taut, eager responses of the S1, the MF12L was always going to be an anticlimax.

Itʼs hardly surprising that Toyota bosses were tempted to develop the 2000GT.

No doubt theyʼd been impressed by the way Mercedes-Benz promoted its post-WW2 revival with the dazzling 300SL Gullwing.

When the decision to build the coupé got the green light, a hand-picked team was selected from Toyotaʼs ranks, led by racing manager Jiro Kawano.

Just five people were originally chosen for Project 280A in the summer of 1964: Shinichi Yamazaki (chassis and suspension), Hidemasa Takagi (engine), Satoru Nozaki (styling), Shihomi Hosoya (test driver and assistant designer) and Eizo Matsuda (test driver).

During pre-design, Toyota acquired several European sports cars, including an MGB, Triumph TR2, Jaguar E-type, Abarth Bialbero, Porsche 911 and race-spec Lotus Elan 26R.

The Toyota 2000GT S2 MF12L has a 2.3-litre, single-cam, Crown Type-R engine

The E-typeʼs performance impressed and the design became the benchmark for the team, but it was the Elanʼs backbone chassis and all-independent suspension that was adopted.

For generations, Japanese designers were happy to copy the West, so why not rework Colin Chapmanʼs brilliant concept?

Kawano set five objectives for the new car: high performance, enough civility for daily use, meeting the necessary regulations for export, high quality taking precedence over high volume, and providing a good basis for a GT-class racer.

Before designers Nozaki, Takagi and Yamazaki set up at Yamaha to design the 2000GT, such key specification as the double-overhead-cam six-cylinder engine, backbone chassis, fastback roof and retractable headlights were confirmed.

Prior to taking on the job of design and development for the project, Yamaha had already built a secret GT for Nissan.

Christened A550X, this fully unitary design was powered by Yamahaʼs own 120bhp four-cylinder engine.

Features included disc brakes and retractable lights, but, after a mule had been completed, relations soured between the two corporations when Yamahaʼs contract for Nissan Silvia body production was terminated.

This prototype is often mistakenly linked to the 2000GTʼs development, but it did confirm to Toyota that Yamaha was capable of building Project 280A.

The forgotten Nissan was never shown to the public and its fate is unknown.

A rare meeting of the Toyota 2000GT S1 (closest) and S2

Quite how Graf Albrecht von Görtz, the successful German industrial designer who created the glamorous BMW 507, came to be credited with the Toyotaʼs sleek style is a mystery.

Even Toyota USA repeated this myth in a 2000s advertising campaign, which must have irked the old team back home.

At some point, Görtzʼs New York design studio was employed as a consultant to Nissan, including for the A550X concept, but Toyotaʼs GT was an all-Japanese effort from the start.

Early sketches by stylist Nozaki clearly show how the final shape evolved through to 1:5 scale models and a full-sized wooden buck.

The majority of 2000GTs remain at home in Japan, where itʼs highly prized.

Not until Honda built the brilliant NSX did the supercar mantle carry over, while Toyota focused on market domination.

Little wonder the GT is regularly wheeled out to boost its image.

Following its F1 indulgence, another Toyota supercar followed, this time wearing a Lexus badge.

The LFA is quite a machine, but it would have to be very special indeed to eclipse the 2000GT.

Images: Tony Baker

This was first in our March 2007 magazine; all information was correct at the date of original publication

Toyota 2000GT trivia

The Toyota 2000GT’s conception has become shrouded in legend

High-quality veneers were no problem for Yamaha thanks to its piano division. Rosewood was used for the dashboard, mahogany for the steering wheel and gearknob
Prototypes were built with both steel and aluminium bodywork – two of the 460lb-lighter versions were turned into racers, known as the Type 311S. With 217bhp, they hit 173mph at Fuji Raceway
The Toyota 2000GT was the first Japanese car to claim FIA speed records. At the 3.4-mile Yatabe oval in 1966, a yellow-and-green coupé set 16 records, including 206kph (128mph) for 72 hours
GT buyers included movie star Paul Newman. Three ‘Golden Cars’ appeared with model Twiggy at the 1967 Tokyo motor show. She owned chassis 10130, which later appeared in the TV comedy The Ugliest Girl in Town with psychedelic paintwork
In 1967, Toyota commissioned Shelby American Racing to develop the 2000GT for SCCA competition. Three cars were built for 1968, taking four first places including three 1-2s in its first and only season

James Bond’s Toyota 2000GT

This Toyota 2000GT spider is a replica of the one that appeared in the fifth James Bond film

The most famous Toyota 2000GT is the spider built for the fifth 007 movie, You Only Live Twice.

For filming in Japan, Albert ‘Cubby’ Broccoli wanted an exotic car for James Bond, and the 2000GT was tailor-made for the role.

However, limited headroom for star Sean Connery and cramped on-board camera work resulted in two spider conversions by the Toyopet Service Centre at Tsunashima.

The body was reinforced with cross-bracing in the floor. One of the pair is now in the factory museum, but the other has disappeared.

When Peter and Bob came across a dismantled, low-mileage 2000GT in Virginia in 1990, they decided to create their dream spider.

“We failed to trade our Shelby racer with Toyota for the 007 car,” says Bob.

“So, with 12 GTs then in our collection, we decided to convert our own. Hyaniss Restoration did a great job of engineering the car, then it came back to me for detailing.”

With sill stiffening, Koni dampers and triple Webers, this ultimate 2000GT feels like a Lotus Elan built by BMW, and Peter and Bob regularly give Ferrari 275GTBs a hard time on classic car road rallies in it.

With an affordable price-tag, the spider could have rewritten sports-car history in 1967.

Factfile

Toyota 2000GT S1

Sold/number built 1966-’70/337
Construction steel semi-unitary body with backbone chassis
Engine iron-block, alloy-head-and-sump, dohc 1988cc straight-six, with three dual-choke Mikuni-Solex carburettors
Max power 150bhp @ 6600rpm
Max torque 130lb ft @ 5000rpm
Transmission five-speed manual or three-speed automatic, RWD
Suspension independent, by double wishbones, coil springs, telescopic dampers, anti-roll bar f/r
Steering rack and pinion
Brakes discs, with servo
Length 12ft 10½in (3924mm)
Width 5ft 3in (1600mm)
Height 3ft 9¾in (1161mm)
Wheelbase 7ft 7¾in (2330mm)
Weight 2560lb (1161kg)
0-60mph 10 secs
Top speed 130mph
Mpg n/a
Price new $7250