One Of 62 Toyota 2000GTs Heads To Auction

When you think of classic Japanese sports cars, only one really comes to mind: the Toyota 2000GT. And as rare as they are, one is going to auction in May.

A 1967 Toyota 2000GT will be on the block in RM Sotheby’s Elkhart Collection, running 1-2 May. Not only is the 2000GT the most significant Japanese sports car ever produced, but this one, chassis number MF10-10100, is just one of 62 models destined for the U.S. with left-hand drive. It was kept for more than 30 years by its original owner, race car driver Otto Linton, before undergoing a full restoration by noted specialists Maine Line Exotics in its original Solar Red. It seems to remain in like-new condition.

Toyota introduced the 2000GT at the 1965 Tokyo Motor Show, which was built, and designed (mostly), between 1967 and 1970 by Yamaha. In fact, Yamaha had originally approached Nissan with the idea only for the company to decline. Toyota took up the offer but used its own designer, Satoru Nozaki, for the final look.

The only convertible version ever built was used for the 1967 James Bond film, You Only Live Twice – because the star, Sean Connery, was too tall to fit into the coupe.

There is no price listed for this particular 2000GT, but in 2013, another pristine ’67 U.S. model sold for $1.15 million. Who knows…?

*Images courtesy of RM Sotheby’s