Automobiliac Video of the Week: Toyota 2000GT Speed Trial vintage footage
Monday, November 29, 2010 at 12:02AM I probably should have posted this earlier for you to watch while you digested your turkey, but better late than never...
I always think of the Toyota 2000GT as a swingin' Grand Tourer with incredibly beautiful lines, but I had never really seen one race-prepped at full song before. Here is some wonderful vintage footage of Toyota's 72 hour speed trial at Yatabe test track, back in 1966. The music is hit or miss, and the editing could be a lot tighter (it's also entirely in Japanese), but there is some truly awesome footage with gorgeous composition in there that will reward close viewing of this 9 minute video. If you don't have time for the whole thing, I might suggest the dream-like night sequence starting at 3:01, and the mesmermizing clip starting at 7:04 which almost looks like a Wes Anderson film!
Crank up the speakers when the 2000GT wails by, looking almost like a Cobra Daytona Coupe on a fish and rice diet! Click here for more info about this car, with photos!
2000GT, Toyota, Yatabe, speed trial, video, vintage in Video of the Week
Reader Comments (5)
Cobra Daytona?? Not in this lifetime!
Like very much numbers at 2'45" Ah Bien Toh, Saigon
very cool clip. interestingly enough, i was most reminded of... this scene from lelouch's "une femme et un homme":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alQXaZDtsxk
something about engineers and pit crew testing a race car on a banked oval.
what a great car and what a great clip! if only Toyota had kept this spirit.....
the last sporting toyota i really truly loved was the mk2 mr2 from 1990-1999. by most accounts the mk4 supra from 1992-2002 was a great car, but i would have much rather had an rx-7 or even 300zx from the same period any day of the week.