Toyota 2000GT (1967)
Publication: Car Graphic
Format: Road Impressions
Date: May 1967
Author: Kyoichi Yamaguchi
Operation TNT007
In early February, “Operation TNT007” began across the Pacific Ocean.
This was the first step in the full-scale introduction of the Toyota 2000GT to the United States, carried out as a special reporting mission by a well-known American automotive magazine. TNT is, of course, an abbreviation for trinitrotoluene, a high-performance explosive. And 007, needless to say, is the code name for the world-famous British secret agent, James Bond. In fact, TNT007 was the California license plate issued to the very first Toyota 2000GT registered in the United States.
In connection with this operation, I visited Toyota’s headquarters in Toyota City, where I was given the opportunity–albeit briefly–to test drive Japan’s first fully-fledged grand touring car. Although the car I drove wore a different license plate number , the impression it made was indeed that of TNT and 007. The performance when the throttle is fully opened is as explosive as TNT, and the styling and accommodations are so excellent that even Mr. Bond–who has an eye for high-end GTs–would be more than satisfied.
The test vehicle was the tenth example built at the Yamaha 2000GT factory in Hamamatsu, and was a left-hand-drive export model, with gauges calibrated in mph rather than km/h. I must point out that this car was one of a so-called “pilot production” batch that is not intended for sale, and is still being used for development work. When I test drove it, the odometer showed just 800km, making it effectively a brand-new car. This body was painted a vivid red that could be called “fire engine red.” According to Toyota’s engineers, this car has attracted considerable attention on public roads around the Chukyo area, and is apparently being closely watched.
The concept of the 2000GT dates back to 1963-1964. Despite the growing popularity of 2+2 GT cars in recent years, Toyota’s designers have not been swayed by the trend and instead remain committed to the original two-seat layout. It would be quite a daunting task to add space for two extra seats in a car with such an extremely low and compact body, which also uses a long inline six-cylinder engine related to mass-produced sedans. According to Toyota’s engineers, there are no plans to make the 2000GT a 2+2 or a +1, now or in the future.
European-sized interior
In its road test of the Corona 1600S Hardtop, the British magazine Motor wrote, “The Japanese, even with all of their great industrial and commercial talent, seem unable to grasp the fact that we Europeans are taller than they are.” This criticism certainly does not apply to the 2000GT. The design and development team includes many people of distinctly European proportions. Chief project engineer Jiro Kono, for example, is said (official figures have not been released) to be around 180cm tall and weigh about 80kg, cutting an imposing figure. Among the racing team, there are also large drivers such as Shiro Hosoya. And Toyota’s modern technical center, which serves as their base of operations, is reportedly a very spacious and comfortable place to work. The sensibilities of these European-sized individuals are clearly reflected in the design and livability of the 2000GT’s interior.
The overall height of the 2000GT is just 1160mm, which is exceptionally low for a front-engined car. For comparison, the height of the Porsche 911 is 1330mm, the Alfa Romeo TZ measures 1200mm, the Jaguar E-type is 1219mm, and the Ferrari GTB is 1345mm. Only the Lotus Elan Coupe is slightly lower than the 2000GT, at 1092mm. Despite being so low, it is remarkably easy to get in and out of the 2000GT. The adoption of a backbone frame, similar to that of the Elan, allows the door sills to be lowered to the bare minimum.
The seats are impeccable, reflecting a development team that has been heavily involved in long-distance races and endurance record runs. They provide excellent support for the upper and lower back, and hold the driver in place securely. With 140mm of fore-and-aft adjustment, an adjustable backrest angle, and 60mm of telescopic adjustment for the steering wheel, the driving position can be tailored to virtually any preference, from a straight-armed, semi-reclined Jim Clark style to an upright, taxi-driver type. The interior is upholstered entirely in black PVC, but it looks and feels very similar to genuine leather. The interior has already been explained in-depth in our February issue, so I will not repeat the details here, but the high quality evident in its design and construction deserve special mention. Yamaha’s craftsmanship, as expected, is truly impressive.
Forward and side visibility from the cockpit is good. The raised edges along the tops of the front fenders help give a sense of the car’s width, but as in any car with such an extreme fastback shape, rear visibility is limited. The rear window has a peculiar lens effect that made the Corona sedan accompanying us look like a low-slung sports car in the rearview mirror; the limited visibility through the back window is compensated for by the pair of racing-type fender mirrors.
TNT performance
The full-throttle acceleration performance of the 2000GT can only be described as explosive. The official 0-400m acceleration time is 15.6 seconds, but unofficially, it is said to be capable of 0-400m runs just under 15 seconds, so it can be said to compete on equal terms with the Ferrari GTS and the Porsche 911S. The test car was equipped with the standard 4.38 final drive ratio; the acceleration of the 2000GT with the optional 4.63 final drive is sure to be truly astonishing.
Since the test car was brand-new, we did not attempt hard 0-400m acceleration runs, but even half-throttle acceleration on the highway was enough to be impressive. The tachometer’s yellow zone starts at 6800rpm and goes into the red at 7500rpm. Apart from a few brief instances where it exceeded 6500rpm, we limited the revs to around 5000rpm, but the rise in engine speed was exceptionally smooth. The early Solex PHH type carburetors were known to run out of breath at high rpm, but this problem seems to have been completely cured in the current units. Even when the throttle was deliberately lifted at 5000rpm and then immediately reapplied, the 2000GT’s engine responded sharply and without hesitation.
We pushed the speedometer, calibrated in mph, up to 120, and the car was still accelerating strongly at that speed. The claimed top speed of 220km/h seems entirely achievable. Fifth gear is an overdrive ratio of 0.844, making it well-suited to economical high-speed cruising. At 60mph (96km/h) the engine is turning 3000rpm, and even at 100mph (160km/h) it runs at a comfortable, unstressed 4800rpm. Toyota engineers report real-world fuel economy of around 9km/l while cruising at 140-160km/h. One of them joked, “You’d be better off buying a 2000GT than a Corolla–your wallet will thank you.” The test car produced some gear whine in overdrive fifth, but Toyota says this has been corrected on production vehicles.
In direct fourth, the car easily exceeds 180km/h at 7000 rpm, and reaches 160km/h at 6000 rpm, with acceleration comparable to that of third gear in a 4-speed gearbox. At a road speed of 50mph (80km/h), the engine speeds in each gear are 7300rpm in first, 4500rpm in second, 3400rpm in third, 2800rpm in fourth, and 2400rpm in fifth. Even in first gear, the engine is beneath the red zone (though the noise is naturally loud), while in fifth gear, it remains within the reasonable rev range. On the highway, you can even skip one or two gears when shifting up.
Toyota advertises the 2000GT as being fitted with either domestically-made Dunlop SP41 or Bridgestone Radial tires, and the 2000GT’s suspension geometry appears to have been designed with radial types in mind. Bridgestone’s pattern, produced under license from Pirelli, closely resembles that of the famed Pirelli Cinturato. Although the 2000GT’s top speed exceeds 220km/h, both the Dunlop and Bridgestone tires specify a design maximum of 180km/h (presumably meaning a safe long-distance cruising limit). Since speeds above 200km/h are essentially impossible on Japanese roads, this isn’t really an issue. Toyota engineers say they tested many types of tires–both domestic and foreign–for the 2000GT. Among them was Michelin’s latest XAS asymmetrical tire (a tread pattern that is not symmetrical left to right). This tire is used on the Fiat Dino, and according to Toyota’s engineers, delivers such strong grip that it will even squeal in the rain.
A high-class grand tourer must also keep cabin noise to a minimum. The test car could not be considered a representative example of the 2000GT’s exhaust and mechanical noise levels, due to the stiff gearbox and the fitment of a silencer that differed from the production model. Even so, the interior noise level is low. Normal conversation is possible even at speeds above 100mph. What is especially noteworthy is how well wind noise is suppressed.
Toyota’s 5-speed gearbox shifts with excellent feel and precision. The short shift throw, strong synchros, and well-chosen gear ratios place this gearbox near the top not only among domestic units, but even by international standards. The 5-speed layout positions fifth gear to the upper right of the 4-speed H-pattern. In the left-hand-drive test car, when downshifting from fifth, it took slightly longer than expected to engage fourth gear, but this was likely a matter of getting used to it.
This gearbox itself consists of two cases: the front case houses first through fourth gears, while the rear contains the overdrive fifth gear and reverse. This configuration is also used by the Fiat 124 and Fiat Dino 5-speed units.
The clutch is the same type as that used in the Crown 6, but its pressure plate has been reinforced to handle the high torque. During development, it was said to have withstood more than 200 consecutive hard starts. Pedal effort is moderately heavy, and its operation is positive and never abrupt.
Four-Wheel Disc Brakes
The Toyota 2000GT is the first domestically produced Japanese car to be equipped with four-wheel disc brakes. Supplied by Sumitomo Dunlop, the discs are a solid (non-ventilated) type, measuring 280mm in diameter at the front and 266.5mm at the rear. A vacuum servo is fitted as standard; without one, they would surely require Herculean leg strength.
Braking performance is correspondingly powerful, fully matching the car’s acceleration and high-speed capability. Even when applying the brakes four or five times in rapid succession from around 130km/h, we found no trace of unevenness; deceleration was consistent and assured throughout. Even when used at low to medium speeds in city driving, there is none of the over-assisted feel often associated with servo brakes, and response remains entirely natural.
The steering is just as impressive as the brakes. The mechanism is rack-and-pinion, with a quick ratio of two turns lock-to-lock. The 38cm-diameter wood-rim steering wheel with black-painted three-spoke metal arms felt just right, both in size and in tactile impression. Despite the sharp steering ratio, small-diameter wheel, and straight-arm driving position, steering effort is by no means excessive. The overall sensation is what one might call “rock-solid,” heavy in a way that communicates absolute steadiness and confidence.
The half-day test drive followed a route from the Toyota Technical Center to Nagoya City and then back on the Meishin Expressway. This was not intended to be a full road test, but rather a drive to grasp the overall character of the Toyota 2000GT. With that in mind, aggressive driving on tight, winding roads was avoided.
Like the Lamborghini 400GT and Ferrari 330GTC, which use a similar type of suspension, the 2000GT’s steering characteristics are fundamentally neutral, ultimately transitioning into oversteer at the limit. According to Toyota’s engineers, this transition occurs quite late. Even if power is applied in tight corners to deliberately provoke the tail, corrections are easily accomplished with quick steering inputs, as seen in the superb countersteering slide techniques demonstrated by the 2000GT drivers in the Suzuka 1000km race. Under normal driving conditions, however, one would rarely approach these limits.
The Toyota 2000GT offers handling that is exceptionally safe even for beginners, yet in the hands of an experienced driver, it reveals depths of capability that seem to expand the further it is pushed. And this is not the rough, exaggerated sliding of a stock car, but rather a clean, intelligent style of cornering more often associated with a monoposto.
Outstanding Flexibility
The 2000GT’s acceleration and top speed give it the performance to stand alongside renowned European grand tourers. But as a Japanese car, it must also endure the fate of being driven in congested city traffic. If necessary, the 2000GT will run continuously in fifth gear at just 1500rpm. Driving in second through fourth gear, with the engine between 2000 and 3000rpm, feels completely unstressed. During our drive through Nagoya and on the Meishin Expressway, the needle on the water temperature gauge remained at exactly 100°F. If the engine heats up, an electric fan driven by a thermostat engages to help with cooling. For a high-performance engine that breathes through a 40mm choke and a 42mm intake valve per cylinder, this level of flexibility is almost unbelievable.
The excellent auxiliary equipment also points out how carefully the design has been considered. The ventilation/heating system is powerful, and with the heater fan on its highest setting, it can stir up a small typhoon in the footwell. The rear window’s heating element turns on in conjunction with the fan switch. On a snowy expressway, the Corona following behind struggled with steamed-up windows, while the 2000GT’s rear glass remained clear. Moreover, the falling snow did not strike the windshield; it flowed upward and away, as proof of the excellent aerodynamics. We almost didn’t need to test the wipers at all.
With the arrival of the Toyota 2000GT, Japan finally has a grand tourer that can excite enthusiasts around the world. Favorable reactions to Operation TNT007 have already been reported from the United States, and we hope to present them in this magazine in the near future.
Postscript: Story Photos
