A 1967 Toyota 2000 GT raced by Shelby American crossed the auction block March 4 for US$2.3 million, setting a record for the most expensive Japanese car ever sold.
The car’s impressive sale by Gooding & Company was helped along by its connection to the U.S. motorsports legend Carroll Shelby – tying that name to any car almost always guarantees a hefty premium – and by the fact he only ever prepared three examples of the 2000 GT for SCCA C-Production racing.
But even without that affiliation, the coupe was sure to command an eye-watering-ly high price, since it wears the first serial number in the Toyota 2000 GT production, run, too.
The Toyota 2000 GT is one of Japan’s first-ever sports cars, a lithe 2,400-lb coupe that used a Yamaha-tuned 150-hp 2.0-liter inline-six to nail a top speed of 220 km/h (137 mph). The automaker only ever turned out 351 of them between 1967 and 1970, shipping about 60 to the U.S.
One of the first cars to land on North American soil – and apparently the first 2000 GT built, chassis MF10-10001 – ended up in the hands of Shelby by way of a nascent partnership with Toyota, which wanted to establish a reputation in U.S. motorsports, and thought a tie-in with the Texan might be the best way to do so. Shelby, who had begun to see his relationship with Ford disintegrate, thought 1967 an opportune time to find a new dance partner.
Shelby took the one-time Solar Red show car and prepped it and two other cars for SCCA C-Production class racing. After a single season, it was retired. The current owner acquired the car in 1980, and effected its restoration to competition spec.
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The car crossed the block at Gooding’s Amelia Island auction in Florida, hosted in conjunction with the concours d’elegance hosted there annually (re-titled simply “The Amelia” by its new sponsor and organizer Hagerty Insurance). Bidding started at US$1 million, jumped quickly to US$1.5 million, then began to peter out after crossing the $2-million threshold. While short of Gooding’s pre-auction US$2.75-million low estimate, its US$2.3-million sale nevertheless makes for quite a high watermark.
The record for most expensive Japanese car ever sold was previously held by a four-rotor 1989 Mazda 767B race car that won its class at Le Mans; it traded hands at auction for US$1.75 million.
Keyword: Shelby Toyota 2000 GT becomes most expensive Japanese car sold