The 1960s saw the birth of many superb sports cars around the world. After the second Japanese Grand Prix of 1964, Toyota began to develop a Gran Tourismo model with cooperation of Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. A prototype was unveiled at the 1965 Tokyo Motor Show, and the production model was placed on the market in May 1967.

The ultra-low coupé body was designed in-house, supported by an X-shaped backbone frame that came equipped with a 2,000 cc inline 6-cylinder DOHC engine, a 4-wheel independent suspension with a double wishbone and coil spring layout, 4-wheel disc brakes, and four magnesium alloy wheels. The Toyota 2000GT was the first Japanese-made production model that adopted these novel components. Its performance was world-class, including a maximum speed of 220 km/h, a 0-400 m acceleration of 15.9 seconds, and a 0-100 km/h acceleration of 8.6 seconds. Prior to its commercial release, the Toyota 2000GT established numerous speed records (including three world records and 13 new international records), and also competed in races held in Japan and the U.S. with favorable results. It is interesting to note that two of its prototypes were converted into open-tops and appeared in a James Bond film "You Only Live Twice."

A total of 337 units were made before production ended in 1970.