Recently sold at auction this ultra-rare 1967 Toyotoa 2000GT Targa is a beautiful example of the late 60’s and early 70’s renaissance of Japanese automotive engineering and design.
The Toyota 2000GT is a limited-production, front-engine, rear-wheel drive, two-seat, hardtop coupé grand tourer designed byToyota in collaboration with Yamaha. First displayed to the public at the Tokyo Motor Show in 1965, the 2000GT was manufactured under contract by Yamahabetween 1967 and 1970. In Japan, it was exclusive to Toyota’s Japanese retail sales channel called Toyota Store.
The 2000GT revolutionized the automotive world’s view of Japan, then viewed as a producer of imitative and stodgily practical vehicles. As sleek, high-performance fastback, it demonstrated its auto makers could produce a sports car to rival the better marques of Europe.
In 1967, Road & Track magazine summed up the car as “one of the most exciting and enjoyable cars we’ve driven“, and compared it favorably to the Porsche 911. Today, the 2000GT is seen as the first seriously collectible Japanese car and its first supercar. Examples of the 2000GT have sold at auction for as much as $1,200,000.
