News "Test drive a real Toyota 2000GT Bond car!"

The reason why the Bond car, which was actually a "Camaro", became a "2000GT"

　Originally, Toyota "2000GT" is said to be a model developed with the major purpose of making the "Toyota" brand and Japanese cars known to the world, even if it disregards profitability. [Image] Look at the bond car specifications of the "2000GT", which is the only two in the world (21 photos) And the biggest factor in making its fame international at once is the movie "You Only Live Twice" (1967) Open to the public), it is nothing less than having performed as a "Bond Car". Only two 2000GTs were openly refurbished for this work, but VAGUE recently had the chance to test drive them.

I turned on my headlights. The lights under it also look like headlights, but this is a driving light

- What is the history of the bond car legend? The story of the Toyota 2000GT and James Bond dates back to the end of 1965. Until then, in the "007" series, the Aston Martin DB5 had appeared as the original "Bond car" in both "007 Goldfinger" (released in 1964) and "007 Thunderball Operation" (released in 1965). However, in the production of the fifth film, "007 Lives Twice" (published in 1967/original title: You Only Live Twice), in which Japan becomes the stage for adventure and Japanese movie stars co-star, the distributor, United Artists, Inc. From the contract with GM North America, it is said that the first Chevrolet "Camaro", which had been decided to debut in September 1966, was scheduled to be appointed. However, Jiro Kono, who was the project leader of the Toyota 2000GT, exhibited the first prototype car at the Tokyo Motor Show in the fall of 1965, and then showed the world the 2000GT, which was in the development stage for commercialization, as a "Bond car." It is said that he approached Albert R. Broccoli of Aeon Productions, the production company of the 007 series. Soon after, Toyota and Aeon Pro reached an agreement and began production of the 2000GT Bond car. The reason why it was issued. Also, it is said that the tall Connery, whose height is 188 cm (nominal), decided to make it open because he could not get in and out of the coupe with a low roof. At this stage, there was no production 2000GT, so the base was two of the 10 or so secondary prototypes that were said to have been built for actual driving tests. This was to be refurbished into a vehicle for filming and a spare vehicle. These two cars were picked up as base cars because the other test cars were equipped with the same magnesium disc wheels as the commercial model, but the same wires as the first prototype car exhibited at the Tokyo Motor Show. The biggest reason is that the wheel happened to be installed. The vehicle production, including the opening, was handled by the Toyopet Service Center's Tsunashima Plant (currently Toyota Technocraft), which had a wealth of experience with racing vehicles and special vehicles from that time. The Toyota 2000GT has a Lotus-type X-shaped backbone frame, so even if the roof is cut off, it is easier to secure rigidity than a monocoque structure. However, it was still pointed out that the rigidity was insufficient, so Toyota proposed a Targa type top that only the roof part could be removed, but Broccoli was not convinced, so in the end the full open plan was adopted. The side sills and other parts of the filming vehicle, which was actually used for the car chase scene, were reinforced. In addition, the front windscreen, which at first glance appears to be unchanged from the standard, has been redesigned to have a more laid-back design, and since the commercial version does not have a roof with a hatch gate, the trunk lid will also be newly designed. became. Furthermore, in anticipation of the fact that the windscreen would often need to be removed for the convenience of movie shooting, acrylic resin was fitted instead of glass to make do with it, and the tonneau cover behind the seat was also a dummy, and the soft top was prepared from the beginning. was not