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Toyota's remarkable 2000GT was the product of a collaboration with Yamaha, and it became the biggest rival to the famous Jaguar E-Type

When it comes to iconic coupes of the 1960s, one car everyone thinks of is the Jaguar E-Type. The E-Type is often seen as one of the world's prettiest cars, and one of the greatest to ever come from the United Kingdom. The first one appeared in 1961 and the car was in production until 1974. Its popularity as such that examples sell for huge sums of money at auction, eyes our drawn to them whenever we see one in public.

During this time though, it is arguable a certain car from Toyota was better. First appearing in 1967, this is of course the Toyota 2000GT. This iconic sports coupe was amazingly designed in collaboration with Yamaha, and was first shown off to the public at the 1965 Tokyo Motor Show. The 2000GT would go on to be one of the most exciting and beautiful cars of the 20th century, and examples of the 2000GT have sold for more than $1,000,000 at auction, such is their rarity and desirability. It’s a car that is often cast into the shadows, but it's one of the greatest cars to come from the 1960s.

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The Toyota 2000GT didn’t have a straightforward birth. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, automobile ownership in Japan started to pick up. And Toyota saw that many rivals across the world were bringing out sports cars or grand tourers. The Thunderbird had come from Ford, Jaguar of course had the E-Type and Ferrari had their 250 GT Coupe. Toyota decided that they wanted to get in on the action. They at the time had their first production car, the Sports 800, in production, but as the engine was too small for the car to be really considered a true world-class sports car, Toyota set about offering a car with a six-cylinder engine.

This is when Yamaha joined the fray. Yamaha had attempted to create their own sports car, the YX30, with a four-cylinder engine in 1959. Problems plagued that project, but it gave the company enthusiasm to partner up with an established car manufacturer. Initially, Yamaha went to Nissan but after the A550X prototype was initially built, that project was quietly scrapped. Yamaha then turned to Toyota, and this was when the partnership succeeded. Yamaha would conduct much of the design work for what would become the 2000GT.

With Toyota design Satoru Nozaki leading the styling, what Toyota and Yamaha came up with was one of the most iconic gran turismo designs of all time. It's clear to see that the styling of the 2000GT was heavily inspired by that of the Jaguar E-Type. The smooth, flowing bodywork with the long hood, and the shorter cabin with the graceful drop-down to the tail of the car all echo that of the E-Type. Where Toyota differed though was in the use of pop-up headlights, which were above large plexiglass covered driving lamps. These were similar to that on the Toyota Sports 800.

The bumper designs were very minimal, and the car was quite low with just 45.7 inches to the highest point of the roof. Under the hood of the 2000GT was an incredible engine, the 1m988 cc 2.0-liter straight-six 3M engine. Toyota had based this off engine in the top-of-the-line Toyota Crown sedan. This was where Yamaha came in, as they transformed it into a sports car engine thanks to the addition of three 2-barrel Mokuni-Solex 40 PHH carburetors couple to a new DOHC head. This saw the car produce 148 hp.

The interior of the 2000GT was comfortable but a touch cramped. Luxury touches were evident with the walnut or rosewood veneer dashboard inlays one example. These were all produced by Yamaha’s music instrument woodwork facilities. The interior was, despite its cramped nature, totally befitting of a luxury gran turismo machine. Toyota would add even more exclusivity to the 2000GT with the making of two one-off open-top model used in the James Bond Film “You Only Live Twice”. Appropriate seeing as the film was nearly totally shot in Japan. These special open-tops added to the 337 regular models made, making the 2000GT an extremely rare car in the 1960s and even rarer in 2022.

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That exclusivity helps to make the 2000GT more special than the E-Type, as does its film appearance in James Bond. The 2000GT became a halo car for Toyota, and the company apparently made no profits on its production. Not that Toyota probably care too much, as it elevated the brand's reputation and standing and gave Yamaha great experience in the automotive world. Toyota has even begun reproducing spare parts for the 2000GT, using original sources. And the most expensive 2000GT sold at auction was the super rare Caroll Shelby-tuned 2000GT that sold for $2,535,000. The 2000GT is surely THE Gran Turismo of the 1960s. It's just a shame it sometimes feels like it's forgotten about.

Sources: New Atlas GT Planet, Toyota

Covering anything from JDM cars to classic jets. Contributed to HotCars since the Autumn of 2018. Writes features, news and list articles.