Toyota 2000 GT – The Complete Story of Japan’s First Supercar
By Shin Yoshikawa
While Japanese cars are often overlooked by historic racing aficionados and classic sports car enthusiasts alike, several Japanese models built in the late ’60s possess a rich road and race history. One of the most notable examples was Toyota’s 2000 GT.
In the early-‘60s, Toyota began preliminary designs for an exotic, low-volume GT car that would showcase Toyota’s engineering prowess. Using several English sports cars as benchmarks, the Toyota team developed a 2-liter GT design but chose to have the limited production car built by Yamaha. The first prototype was completed in 1965 and shortly thereafter the 2000 GT began competing in Japan. Success in the 24-Hours of Fuji and the Japan Grand Prix were soon followed by an assault on several FIA 2-liter World Speed Records. After breaking 16 international speed and endurance records, the Toyota 2000 GT was deemed ready to go to the United States to compete in the SCCA’s 1968 C-production category.
With two cars campaigned by racing legend Carroll Shelby for Dave Jordan and Scooter Patrick, the 2000 GT went head-to-head with the 2-liter Porsche 911. Unfortunately, while the 2000 GTs were fast, their heavier weight put them at a competitive disadvantage that they were never able to overcome. After only one season, the 2000 GT racing program was cancelled with production of the road car to end shortly thereafter in 1970.
Perhaps one of the reasons why the 2000 GT has not been fully appreciated by the classic car world has been the fact that there has never really been a definitive work written on it. However, with the recent release of VRJ contributor Shin Yoshikawa’s Toyota 2000 GT book, perhaps this will soon change. Yoshikawa’s new work is as beautiful as it is thorough. Comprised of over 350 pages, Yoshikawa has researched every aspect of the 2000 GT from its early design, to its race history and even some of the race and street cars that it spawned. Elegantly designed and richly illustrated, this slip-case bound book will surely stand out as the definitive work on an interesting but poorly understood classic supercar.
Copies can be ordered directly from the publisher, KAI, for $100 + s&h at P.O. Box 807, Lebec, CA 93243, or by calling (661) 245-0918, (661) 245-1328 (fax) or by e-mail at [email protected].
Our Rating: Excellent
