The Toyota 2000GT is the car that proved Japan could build a world-class sports car. Made from 1967 to 1970 in tiny numbers, it looked like an E-Type from the East, set international speed records, carried James Bond, and in 2013 became the first Japanese car to sell for more than a million dollars at auction. Only around 351 were built.
Why is the Toyota 2000GT called Japan's first supercar?
Because nothing from Japan had matched the world's best sports cars until it arrived. In the mid-1960s Japanese makers were known for small, sensible cars, and the 2000GT announced that they could also build a fast, beautiful and technically advanced grand tourer to rival Europe.
It backed the looks with proof. In 1966 a 2000GT ran for 72 hours at the Yatabe test track and set several world speed and endurance records, showing the doubters that the car was as capable as it was elegant, not merely a styling exercise.
Who actually built the 2000GT?
Toyota designed it, but Yamaha engineered and hand-built it. The two companies developed the car together, with Yamaha responsible for the twin-cam cylinder head and the careful assembly, which is why the 2000GT feels more like a coachbuilt exotic than a mass-market Toyota.
The engineering was genuinely advanced. Its 2.0-litre straight-six carried a Yamaha-designed double-overhead-cam head, and the car had four-wheel disc brakes and a limited-slip differential, features found on the finest European machinery of the day.
Why does the 2000GT look like a Jaguar?
The long bonnet, the low roof and the flowing tail invite the comparison, and the resemblance to the Jaguar E-Type is no accident of taste. Satoru Nozaki drew a shape in the same idiom of aerodynamic 1960s grand tourers, all length and curve rather than aggression.
The result stands on its own. The 2000GT is smaller and more delicate than the cars it recalls, and its detailing, from the plexiglass-covered lamps to the wood-rimmed wheel, gives it a character that is unmistakably its own.
What is the James Bond connection?
Two 2000GTs were converted to open-top cars for the 1967 James Bond film You Only Live Twice, and they gave the model worldwide fame. The story goes that the convertibles were built because Sean Connery was too tall to sit comfortably under the coupe's low roof.
That brush with cinema, shared with cars like the Aston Martin DB5, helped fix the 2000GT in the public memory far beyond Japan, and it remains one of the most recognisable Japanese cars ever made.
| Toyota 2000GT | Detail |
|---|---|
| Years | 1967–1970 |
| Built | ~351 |
| Engine | 2.0L DOHC straight-six (Yamaha head) |
| Milestone | First Japanese car over $1M at auction (2013) |
How much is a Toyota 2000GT worth?
A good 2000GT now trades well into seven figures, extraordinary for a Japanese car of its age. In 2013 one sold for around 1.2 million dollars, the first Japanese car to pass a million at public auction, and values have climbed since as collectors have taken Japanese classics seriously.
Rarity drives it. With only about 351 built and few sold outside Japan, a documented original is genuinely hard to find, which is exactly the scarcity that sits at the top of our list of the most expensive cars ever sold at auction.
Where does the 2000GT sit in the quiet-luxury canon?
The 2000GT belongs through craft and restraint rather than noise. It is a small, jewel-like car built largely by hand, collected for its beauty and its history as much as its speed, which is the same instinct that governs this whole canon.
It also marks a turning point worth owning: the moment Japan joined the conversation. A 2000GT is the first chapter of a story that runs to every great Japanese sports car since, and it tells that story with more grace than almost anything that followed.
Frequently asked questions
How many Toyota 2000GTs were made? Only around 351 between 1967 and 1970, which makes it one of the rarest and most collectible Japanese cars ever built.
Did Toyota or Yamaha build the 2000GT? Both. Toyota designed the car and Yamaha engineered the twin-cam engine and hand-assembled it, giving the 2000GT a coachbuilt quality.
Which James Bond film featured the Toyota 2000GT? You Only Live Twice in 1967, for which two special open-top 2000GTs were built.
