The Toyota GT 2000 came first. But all comes back to Jaguar E type for inspiration.

Design was for Datsun but they passed on it, so Toyota went for it. Then Datsun came out with the 240z


Most of the 2000GT's design was done by Yamaha, which also did much automobile work for other Japanese manufacturers, originally for Nissan rather than Toyota. A prototype 2000GT was built, but Nissan declined. 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.[3][4]

Styling[edit]

Toyota 2000GT from rearThe 2000GT incorporated many classic 1960s gran turismo design elements. Nozaki's styling was inspired by the E-type Jaguar.[5] Its smoothly flowing bodywork was executed in aluminium and featured pop-up headlights above large plexiglass covered driving lamps flanking the grille similar to those on the Toyota Sports 800. Bumpers were minimal, and the car was extremely low, just 116 cm (45.7 in) to the highest point of the roof. Despite a custom open-top version built for the James Bond film You Only Live Twice, a factory-produced convertible was never offered.

Toyota 2000GT dashboardThe interior offered comfortable, if cramped, accommodation and luxury touches such as a rosewood-veneer dashboard and auto-seeking radio tuner. Road & Track was impressed, considering the interior suited to a "luxurious GT" and calling the 2000GT an impressive car "in which to sit or ride - or simply admire."