In the 1960s, Toyota struggled a lot with an image problem. Not that it produced bad cars, but it wanted something "rocky", something that would also have sporting achievements, so that car fans could put posters on their walls and dream: "Yeah, this Toyota is my dream", not to mention how the sales statistics of other Toyota models would jump. Moreover, when the competition, especially the brilliant Jaguar E-Type, provoked so incredibly…
Of course, it wasn't just about image. Toyota rightly intended a GT-class car because it wanted to prove its technical maturity. As the main competitor, the gentlemen in Japan took the E-Type, which was also a great inspiration to them. Therefore, they did not hesitate, bought several sports cars and began to study how such a sports car is made. In the course of the development processes, a sports GT prototype from Nissan appeared on the scene by chance, designed by Albrecht Goertze, who was also responsible, for example, for the later Datsun 240Z. The car was supposed to be created in collaboration with Yamaha, but Nissan eventually backed away from the sports prototype, so Yamaha offered its proposal to Toyota, which nodded to the offer. However, the body was redesigned by Satoru Nuzaki, which came dangerously close to the Jaguar E-Type.
The Toyota 2000GT was presented at the Tokyo Motor Show in 1967. The two-door elegant coupe (where did she get that elegance?) boasted side-covered spaces in the front fenders, hiding the battery and intake filter, a long and low front. Dimensional headlights were complemented by two folding ones, a necessity for export to the USA, where a minimum height of the headlights above the road was established, which the basic lights did not meet. A flowing rear end with circular headlights and twin tailpipes completes the muscular side lines characterized by the sharp tip of the rear side window. A look at the interior confirms the impressions from the outside. The sporty atmosphere combined with luxury invites the driver to sit in the sporty shaped seats, grab the wooden three-spoke steering wheel and the unusually short gear lever.
The independent sprung wishbone wheels in a backbone frame (similar to the Lotus Elan) were sprung by coil springs, ensuring decent handling potential. It should be noted that it was nothing that original and again I am referring to Jaguar and other sports GTs serving as a model. But why invent something new when the existing one works. Precise rack-and-pinion steering and disc brakes on all wheels ensured excellent handling and control of the car. The straight-six is originally borrowed as the basis from the majestic Crown model, but has been redesigned by Yamaha, given a new aluminum cylinder head, two camshafts and three Mikuni-Solex PHH carburettors. The engine volume was 1,988 cm 3 and reached 150 hp at 5,400 rpm and a torque of 176 Nm at 3,800 rpm. With these values, the 2000GT managed up to 206 km/h and the acceleration from 0-100 km/h took only 10.5 seconds. The driving performance is also due to the manual five-speed, fully synchronized transmission, from which the power naturally went to the rear wheels. There were even nine cars with a 2.3 liter engine, paradoxically with ten horsepower less power, but with a higher torque – by a full 201 Nm.
Even before the start of production, in 1966, Toyota fielded three long-awaited 2000GTs at the Fuji circuit, where they flashed one third place. Another success was the three world speed records set at the Yatabe test track. In this way, it demonstrated sufficient reliability and performance. Of course, these successes prompted Toyota to expand to the USA, where unfortunately, mainly due to the high price, it did not succeed and there was no interest in it on the domestic market. She shone in the Bond movie You Live Twice (1967), for which two roadsters were specially made without the top. In the end, 337 units were produced in three years, of which 63 went to the USA. The Toyota 2000GT is such a highly regarded car, a kind of unofficial confirmation of the fact that in the late 1960s, Toyota was able to produce a car that could stand direct comparison with the best cars of the time even on the race track. Only the Datsun 240Z achieved sales success, completely overshadowing the underappreciated Toyota 2000GT.
