toyota 2000gt

Automobile 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. Ford had recently introduced the Thunderbird, Chrysler had the C-300 while GM's Chevrolet Division had the Corvette. 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. In Japan, Nissan offered the Datsun Sports, while Honda introduced the S500 and Prince offered the Skyline Sport Coupé. 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.

Most of the 2000GT's design was done by motorcycle manufacturer Yamaha, who also contributed contract assistance for other Japanese manufacturers, including Nissan. 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.[5][6] 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. A prototype called the "A550X" was built, but Nissan cancelled the project and introduced the slow selling Nissan Silvia coupe in 1965.[7][8] 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. Wishing to improve their image, Toyota accepted the proposal, but employed a design from their own designer Satoru Nozaki.[9][10]