Yamaha once designed a sports car after years of experience in producing motorcycles. The concept was initially offered to Nissan but was turned down. It went to Toyota and the design eventually became the iconic Toyota 2000GT.

The 2000GT was sometimes described as the Japanese version of the Jaguar E-Type because of its similar appearance, but it was much more limited with only 351 examples built. It featured a 2.0-litre inline six-cylinder engine with a cast iron block and double overhead cams co-developed with Yamaha. The 150 hp car is capable of over 215 km/h .

The example featured here is one of the 62 cars delivered to the USA and one of the six originally finished in Bellatrix Yellow. In 2003 it was restored to the original colour and had the engine and suspension overhauled. It was also fitted with an upgraded electric brake booster and a custom-fabricated cooling system.

The Toyota 2000GT will be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s in Arizona 2018 auction on January 18th and 19th.