When Toyota’s 2000GT landed a role in the 1967 James Bond film “You Only Live Twice,” the coupe had one problem. Sean Connery did not fit comfortably inside it. So Toyota cut the roofs off two cars and built the only Toyota 2000GT roadster pair the company ever officially produced.
Those two open cars never went on sale. Bond never drove one on screen, either. Still, one of them survives today, restored, in Toyota’s own museum.
Here is how a fix for a tall actor produced a version of the 2000GT that The Drive calls the rarest of them all.
A new Japanese sports car meets 007
At the time, the timing was close. Toyota unveiled the 2000GT at the Tokyo motor show in October 1965, according to Toyota’s own UK magazine. “You Only Live Twice,” the fifth Bond film, followed in 1967. The Drive reports that the movie premiered in June 1967, about a month after the car itself launched.
Underneath its long hood, the 2000GT was a serious machine. The Drive lists a 2.0-liter double-overhead-cam straight-six on three Weber carburetors, a five-speed manual, an aluminum body and double-wishbone suspension. Jalopnik puts the engine’s output at 150 hp and the top speed at 136 mph.
Why Sean Connery didn’t fit
At first, the production worked with coupes. According to Toyota UK, the first two cars used in the film had roofs. However, the magazine says it soon became clear that Connery was too tall to sit comfortably in the low car. As a result, the interior shots were hard to film.
The Drive lists Connery’s height as 6 feet 2 inches. By comparison, Jalopnik describes it as a six-foot frame and frames the story as a rumor. Toyota’s own account, though, states the reason plainly. For that reason, Toyota built two 2000GT roadsters so the film crew could get every shot it needed, the magazine says.
How Toyota built the 2000GT roadster
The conversion itself was quick. First, Toyota suggested a targa roof, The Drive reports. Instead, the production asked for a full convertible, because an open car made it easier to film the actors’ faces. Toyota then had two weeks to finish the work, according to The Drive.
With the roof gone, Toyota lowered the car by about an inch, The Drive says. It also swapped the windshield for a removable acrylic piece to make filming easier. Neither car ever got a working folding top. Jalopnik notes that a tonneau cover behind the seats gave the look of a stowed roof.
The Drive says the on-screen roadster wore “Old English White” paint. Toyota and the film’s “Q” department also added Sony gadgets, Toyota UK reports. The list included closed-circuit TV, a video recorder, cameras behind the front number plate, two-way radios, a voice-controlled tape recorder and an audio system.
Bond rode, Aki drove
Ironically, the man the roadster was built for never drove it on film. The Drive points out that Connery’s Bond never took the wheel of the roadster. Instead, Akiko Wakabayashi, playing the agent Aki, did the driving on screen.
Even so, Aki’s driving took help. Toyota UK says Wakabayashi could not drive. In fact, two Toyota test drivers handled the pedals and gears for her during filming, according to the magazine.
Where the two Toyota 2000GT roadster cars went
After filming, the two cars went separate ways. The Drive says one roadster went on a promotional tour in the United States. Later, a Toyota employee found it in Hawaii. Toyota UK dates the discovery to 1977. Toyota then shipped the car back to Japan and restored it fully.
The second roadster’s story is murkier. Toyota UK admits that the fate of the film cars is less clear. One car was reportedly wrecked in the 1970s, the magazine says, although rumors suggest the disposal company sold it to a private buyer instead. Jalopnik adds that neither convertible has ever sold publicly.
Meanwhile, the coupes from the film had their own trail. Toyota UK says both stayed with private owners in the UK until 1995, and both are now back in Japan.
For context, the roadsters were a tiny slice of a small run. Toyota UK says Toyota built 351 2000GTs in all, counting the racing and film cars, and shipped 150 of them outside Japan. Jalopnik adds that production ended in 1970.
Where to see it now
Today, the restored car is the one to visit. Toyota UK says it now holds a place of honor in the Toyota museum and counts among the most valued cars in the collection. The Drive identifies that museum as the Toyota Automobile Museum in Nagakute, Japan. Jay Leno drove the car around the museum’s parking lot in 2012, The Drive reports, and it remains one of only two open-top 2000GTs Toyota ever officially built.
More from Fast Lane Only
- Unboxing the WWII Jeep in a Crate
- 15 rare Chevys collectors are quietly buying
- 10 underrated V8s still worth hunting down
- Police notice this before you even roll window down
This article was created with the help of AI and was reviewed and edited by Fast Lane Only editors before publication.
