Foremost Toyota 2000GT By Shelby Becomes the Most Expensive Japanese Car Ever Sold

They claim that antiques are worth their weight in gold. Indeed, in certain instances, antiques may be genuinely priceless.

A 1967 Toyota 2000 GT customised for racing by the automotive icon fetched USD 2.54 million recently at Gooding & Company's Amelia Island auction. The astonishing price of the magnificent speed machine makes it the most expensive Japanese automobile ever sold.

Toyota-Shelby created the 2000GT in 1966 as a pre-production vehicle. It was serialised as MF10-10001, making it the very first 2000GT to get a serial number.

It was originally painted red and used as a demonstration vehicle in the United States, enabling Toyota to demonstrate the vehicle to potential American consumers. 

After a time, it was donated to Shelby, along with two other 2000GTs, so he could convert them into competitive racing cars. The intention was to provide the 2000GT with genuine racing credentials for marketing reasons.

The Satoru Nozaki-designed coupé debuted at a period when Japan's automobiles were wrongly dismissed as throwaway cheap rides, yet it remains one of the era's most attractive sports cars.

The automobile is low and small, with a long snout and smooth contours extending from front to rear. Only 351 specimens were constructed, each of which was intended to demonstrate that Japanese automobiles were more than utilitarian daily cars, a goal they easily fulfilled.

The auction price for this 2000 GT substantially exceeds the previous record for a Japanese automobile.

The previous record holder for non-charity automobiles was a 1989 Mazda 767B racing car that sold for $1.75 million in 2017. Surprisingly, this specific 2000 GT sold for less than the $2.75 million to $3.5 million pre-sale estimate.

The outcome demonstrates that collectors are becoming increasingly serious about Japanese-made sports vehicles. While this is unquestionably a positive development, there is certainly potential for growth. The Shelby-tuned 2000 GT finished fourth in the event's auction, behind a 1937 Talbot-Lago T150-C-SS Teardrop coupé ($13.43 million), a 1959 Porsche 718 RSK ($2.98 million), and a 1954 Bentley R-Type Continental Fastback ($2.98 million).

According to Hsu's book, the inside of the 2000GT was finished in the same wood as Yamaha grand pianos. The 2000GT's steering wheel, with its wooden rim and three thin spokes, appeared as though it belonged in an expensive Italian or British sports vehicle.

Shelby made various modifications to the 2000GT in order to race it. Among the changes were the replacement of the rosewood dashboard with texture-painted aluminium, the addition of adjustable KONI shock absorbers, and a roll bar for enhanced safety. The engine's output was raised to 210 horsepower. Additionally, he had the automobile repainted in white and a brilliant blue. Shelby utilised this vehicle as a research model and kept it on hand in case one of the other two was unable to compete. 

Shelby's Toyotas finished fourth in their 1968 racing series, behind Porsche and Triumph, according to Gooding.

One of the other Toyota-Shelby 2000GTs is on display at the Toyota Automobile Museum in Japan, but according to Gooding, it has been repainted and no longer resembles this one. The other is housed in a private automobile collection in the United States.

The only other Japanese vehicle that comes close to the Toyota 2000GT in terms of value is the much newer Lexus LFA, which may be regarded a contemporary counterpart. From 2010 to 2012, Toyota's luxury division manufactured the LFA exotic automobile, which included an engine developed in partnership with Yamaha, this time a V10. There were only 500 produced, with prices beginning at $375,000. 

As with the 2000GT, Toyota struggled to sell them all throughout the manufacturing run, Hsu said, but prices skyrocketed after the run finished.