Toyota 1967 2000 GT sports car sold for record $2.5 million
Classic Toyota is most valuable Japanese car ever sold
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Many collectors agree that the sleek Toyota 2000 GT looks like a million bucks, but now there's one worth $2,535,000.
That's the price that was paid for a 1967 example of the classic sports car at the Gooding & Company Amelia Island auction, which makes it the most valuable Japanese car ever sold.
Toyota produced just 351 of the Jaguar E-Type-inspired cars from 1967 through 1970, with a single roadster built for the James Bond film "You Only Live Twice."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Mie Hama co-starred with Sean Connery in the film "You Only Live Twice," which featured the only Toyota 2000 GT ever built by the factory. (PA Images via Getty Images)
A 2000 GT was also the first Japanese car sold for over $1 million in 2013, but the record-setter is a particularly special one.
It is the first to carry a serialized number and is one of three that were modified by Carroll Shelby for use in SCCA C-Production class racing.
Changes to the car, which is powered by a 2.0-liter inline-six-cylinder engine engineered by Yamaha, include a racing oil pan, differential cooling, megaphone exhausts, Girling brake calipers, Koni shocks, differential cooling and a switch from a rosewood to aluminum panel in the dashboard. Racing wheels, safety equipment and a gated shifter were also added.
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The car had been owned by the seller since 1980 and the identity of its buyer has not yet been revealed.