Is this the most expensive Japanese car in the world?
The American house Gooding & Company has estimated between 2.7 and 3.5 million dollars (nearly 3.2 million euros) the Toyota 2000 GT coupe that it will disperse on March 4 during its sale of Amelia Island.
A small fortune.
This coupé is one of three that American champion Carroll Shelby, whose adventure is brought to the screen in "Le Mans 66", prepared for competition in 1967. Its name is worth gold.
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It must be said that the production 2000 GT coupe is already a rarity that is setting the auction rooms on fire.
It was in 1965 that the Japanese manufacturer presented a prototype of its coupé, a kind of Oriental E-Type.
A strict two-seater, the 2000 GT is powered by a two-litre straight-six from the Crown.
The aluminum cylinder head, capped with two chain-driven overhead camshafts, was developed by Yamaha.
The motorcycle manufacturer didn't do things by halves: the cylinder head uses hemispherical combustion chambers and roof-shaped pistons.
Stuffed by three Solex double body horizontal 40 PHH carburettors, the Japanese six-cylinder delivers 150 horsepower at 6,600 rpm.
The engine is mated to a 5-speed synchronized gearbox and a limited-slip differential.
On the structural side,
Toyota engineers drew their inspiration from Lotus by taking over the beam chassis architecture of the Elan.
Ditto for the suspensions which are modeled on combined coil springs and the telescopic shock absorbers of the English.
The career of the Toyota coupe began with a bang.
Before it was marketed, the 2000 GT was chosen to accompany the adventures of James Bond in
You Only Live Twice
.
But as there is no question of locking the secret agent in a coupe, Toyota imagined a convertible of which three copies were produced.
That 007 rolls in 2000 GT does not lead to an influx of orders.
It must be said that the high-performance coupé was billed at 42,500 francs in 1968, while an Alpine A110 was worth 26,700 francs.
The Japanese coupe will finally be produced in 351 units, including only 7 for the French market.
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In the United States, one of its main markets, its performance has not gone unnoticed.
Carroll Shelby thinks the Japanese coupe would be an excellent basis for competing in the US SCCA championship.
This is how he developed three examples of the 2000 GT for competition.
The car in the Amelia Island sale is the first chassis made, the MF10-10001.
The sporting career of the Toyota-Shelby will be brief and it remains today with this coupé, the marvelous testimony of the debut in competition of the Toyota firm.
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