Why Toyota Only Built Two Convertible 2000GTs

Toyota has quite the history with sports cars. Many minds will immediately wander to the MK4 Supra of "Fast & Furious" fame, with its iconic 2JZ engine, sleek silhouette, and now equally striking pricing. Other greats also include the cheap-and-cheerful MR2 sports models, classic and capable Celicas, and some early efforts, such as the diminutive S800.

As enticing as these models are, there is one Toyota sports car that trumps them all, at least in terms of desirability — the 2000GT. Rare even when it was first produced, in the mid-1960s, it was built after the 1963 and '64 Japanese Grand Prix races sparked Japanese demand for a genuine high-performance car from a home-grown brand. Almost immediately, work began on the coupe that would become known as Japan's first supercar.

It looked nothing like any Toyota that had come before it, and indeed like nothing else that followed, thanks to an incredibly svelte aluminum body. There was only space for two people, and it was powered by a 2.0-liter inline-six engine that produced 150 horsepower. The result was a 0 to 60 MPH time of 8.6 seconds, and a top speed of 136 mph. It was enough to ensure the impressive new Toyota broke three world records for speed and endurance.

Production ended in 1970 with just 351 cars made. Of those, 337 were for road-use, and just two of those were produced as convertibles. But these ultra-rare versions of an already ultra-rare car were not design studies or concepts to test production viability — they were solely for use on the silver screen.

Okay, it wasn't MI6 that commissioned the ultra-exclusive open-top 2000GTs, but they were built for Britain's most famous (albeit fictitious) spy. The two cabriolets were prototypes converted for use in the James Bond film, "You Only Live Twice". See, while the little Toyota was perfect for Japanese frames, it's rumored that Bond actor Sean Connery's six-foot frame had no chance of squeezing into the 2000GT as it was. So the roof had to go.

No convertible top was actually made for these cars. A tonneau was provided, which sat rolled behind the seats and thus gave the impression of a folded convertible top, so the 2000GT 'Convertible' is far from a year-round capable classic.

Still, that fact hasn't detracted from the desirability of these impossibly scarce '60s Toyotas. Powered by the same inline-six as the hardtop models, the drop-tops provide all the same thrills but with Bond-certified wind-in-your-hair thrills. While neither of the convertible models have publicly sold, the 'regular' 2000GT coupe regularly sells for seven-figures, with one Shelby-tuned example achieving the accolade of 'most expensive Japanese car of all time,' thanks to an auction result north of $2.5 million. It's anyone's guess what either of the Bond convertibles would fetch, but we're certain they wouldn't be cheap.