Toyota 2000GT Papercraft Model by Shinya

8 Feb, 2022

Toyota 2000GT Papercraft Model

Blast From The Past! Toyota 2000GT, Japan's First Supercar Collaboration with Yamaha

There are many collaborations between Toyota and Yamaha, but one of the phenomenal ones is presenting the Toyota 2000GT which is considered the first supercar made in Japan.

First exhibited in 1965, the Toyota 2000GT opened the eyes of many people to the fact that Japan can make a car that is charming but has a violent performance.

Understandably, in the 1960s, you see the words 'made in Japan', just like nowadays you see the label 'made in China. The impression is that the goods are made carelessly and are inferior to American or European products.

The Toyota 2000GT was made by Yamaha and marketed exclusively from 1967 to 1970.

Speaking of history, the original design of this car was offered by Yamaha to Nissan. Known as the A550X project, at that time Yamaha wanted to build a car but lacked the resources.

But somehow Nissan rejected the project. It was then that Yamaha turned to Toyota.

At that time, Toyota wanted to build an image. Seeing an offer from Yamaha, Toyota seemed to say, "why not. But my designer is also designing, right?"

Finally, the deal was done, Toyota sent a designer named Satoru Nozaki to strengthen Toyota's image in the car.

Toyota 2000GT Papercraft Model by Shinya

When talking about the design, Satoru Nozaki understood that at that time the standard of beauty of a car was seen from its curves. Yes, some kind of design BMW 307 or BMW 507. Or Ferrari 250. Or Jaguar E-type. You name it.

With the final design, Toyota started to design the engine together with Yamaha.

Equipped with an inline six-cylinder engine block and piston handlebars from the MS41 Crown, it means that Yamaha's next task is to make a machine that performs crazy.

Yamaha with their experience in racing added cylinder heads and aluminum pistons. The combustion chamber is also re-engineered so that it can rotate up to 7,000 rpm.

For the choice of the carburetor (yes, this is still the era of the carburetor, man), three Mikuni-Solex side-draft carburetors are used. One carburetor is designed to spray fuel into the two cylinders.

The result is a 2,000cc parallel six-cylinder engine that has 150 hp performance and has a top speed of 220 km/hour.

Very low power? Remember, this is 1965.

Toyota 2000GT Papercraft Model by Shinya

When the prototype was displayed at the 12th Tokyo Motor Show in August 1965, the story of the Toyota 2000GT was similar to that of the Lamborghini Miura. How about it or not, the car is still a concept but there are already many people waiting in line to buy it.

Seeing that there have been many POs (pre-orders), Toyota doesn't want to rush. Precisely this makes Toyota and Yamaha design the mass production version more carefully.

In 1966, the prototype Toyota 2000GT was tested by the Yatabe High-Speed Testing Course. For 72 hours, this car managed to withstand the onslaught of rainstorms and drove at an average speed of 207 km/hour.

Not only that, when the Toyota 2000GT test session tore up 13 FIA records in one event, it was raining too. This is what makes the Toyota 2000GT a legend.

The Toyota 2000GT was finally officially sold in May 1967. This car was only produced for three years with a total number of 351 units being produced, although only 337 units were sold freely.

This car also became iconic because of James Bond, which at that time starred Sean Connery. In the film You Only Live Twice, Mr. Bond uses a Toyota 2000GT convertible, of which only two were produced to shoot the film.

Daniel Craig, who plays James Bond nowadays, when interviewed on Top Gear just said (it has been translated of course), "An Aston Martin is different, a James Bond car is different from a Toyota 2000GT!"

Well, even though it was only sold for 3 years the Toyota 2000GT became a revolutionary car. So Japan's first supercar, so James Bond's car, to the point of bringing down his blue blood breed to the Toyota Supra and GT86.

In a column on the Japanese Nostalgic Car website, if the Toyota 2000GT was sold in the 1980s, it would certainly sell more because it is supported by more advanced manufacturing and a better economy.

But precisely because it was sold three years, the status of the Toyota 2000GT with its very rare number became a very valuable car.

Yes, how about it or not, in an auction in 2013 there was one that sold up to $1.2 million.

The beauty of the design of the Toyota 2000GT is even more obvious when viewed from the side.

Compared to the price when it was launched. It can be redeemed if you have $7,230

Eh, let's calculate the inflation rate, it means that that price in 1967 was equivalent to $54,487.

So do you still want the old Toyota 2000GT?

How not expensive... It's beautiful, elegant, luxurious, and scary too.

Yow, fierce on the streets.