Wednesday Wallpaper: 1968 Toyota 2000GT

The Toyota 2000GT is a work of art, that’s really the only way to describe it. It is the car that made the world realize that Japanese automakers were more than capable of building beautiful vehicles, that could easily rival anything coming out of Germany or Italy. The product of a collaborative effort between Yamaha and Toyota, the 2000GT has been capturing the imaginations of automotive enthusiasts since it was displayed at the Tokyo Motor Show in 1965. Manufactured from 1967 to 1970, the car is incredibly rare with just 351 rolling off the line, and only 60 of those making it to the United States. They carried a hefty premium of about $6,800, which surpassed the price tags of comparable Jaguars and Porsches. That 60 people were smart enough to pony up such a chunk of change for a Japanese built halo car in the 1960s is surprising. They must have been forward thinkers, or perhaps they all had a crystal ball. A 2000GT sold for $1.16 million at auction in 2013, making it the most expensive Asian automobile ever purchased. I say the price is completely justified given that this isn’t just a work of art, it’s a piece of history.

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