Its smoothly flowing bodywork featured pop-up headlights above large plexiglass covered driving lamps flanking the grille similar to those on the Toyota Sports 800. Nozaki's styling was inspired by the E-type Jaguar. The 2000GT incorporated many classic 1960s gran turismo design elements. Wishing to improve their image, Toyota accepted the proposal, but employed a design from their own designer Satoru Nozaki. Yamaha then proposed the design to Toyota, for whom they also did contract work, then perceived as the most conservative of the Japanese car manufacturers.

A prototype called the 'A550X' was built, but Nissan cancelled the project and introduced the slow selling Nissan Silvia coupe in 1965. Due to various problems, Yamaha senior management decided to close the research facility in 1962, but enthusiasm of developing a sports car led to them partnering with an established auto manufacturer. In 1959, Yamaha established the Technical Research Institute to develop their own sports car, and had built the YX30 sports car with a 4-cylinder engine displacing 1600cc, having drawn inspiration from the British MGA B-Series 1600 DOHC engine. Most of the 2000GT's design was done by motorcycle manufacturer Yamaha, who also contributed contract assistance for other Japanese manufacturers, including Nissan. Toyota had already began production of the Sports 800, but the engine was far too small to be considered a world class sports car, and decided they needed to offer a proper 6-cylinder coupe. In Japan, Nissan offered the Datsun Sports, while Honda introduced the S500 and Prince offered the Skyline Sport Coupé. In Europe, Mercedes-Benz had the 300SL, BMW briefly offered the 507, Porsche had the 356, Jaguar had the E-Type, Aston Martin had the DB4, Ferrari had the 250 GT Coupé, and Maserati had the 3500 GT. Ford had recently introduced the Thunderbird, Chrysler had the C-300 while GM's Chevrolet Division had the Corvette. Background Īutomobile ownership in Japan during the late 1950s and early 1960s began to pick up, and Toyota noticed that most international manufacturers had a top level sports car or grand touring coupe, that would draw customers into showrooms and dealerships and drive sales of other more affordable models. Examples of the 2000GT have sold at auction for as much as US$1,200,000 in 2013. Today, the 2000GT is seen as the first seriously collectible Japanese car and its first supercar. Reviewing a pre-production 2000GT 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. As a sleek, high-performance fastback coupé, it demonstrated its auto makers could produce a sports car to rival the better marques of Europe. The 2000GT revolutionized the automotive world's view of Japan, then viewed as a producer of imitative and stodgily practical vehicles. A halo car for the automaker, in Japan it was exclusive to Toyota's Japanese retail sales channel called Toyota Store. First displayed to the public at the Tokyo Motor Show in 1965, the 2000GT was manufactured under contract by Yamaha between 19. The Toyota 2000GT is a limited-production front mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive, two-door, two-seat sports car/ grand tourer designed by Toyota in collaboration with Yamaha.

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