Toyota 2000GT

Plano, Texas, United States

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Arguably the most famous 2000GT in the world.

This chassis made its debut at the 14th Tokyo Motor Show in 1967, along side chassis MF10-10132 (now resides at Yamaha Communication Plaza). The car was showcased alongside British supermodel Twiggy, which stood out among the crowds. Toyota then delivered the car to Twiggy in the UK on February 8, 1968, becoming the first owner, and was registered UBY2F. It was Toyota's way of expressing their gratitude for her participation at the stage during the Tokyo Motor Show. However, it was driven by her ex-boyfriend and Manager Justin de Villeneuve, as Twiggy was 18 and didn't have a driving license at that time.

It was later featured in an America sitcom called 'The Ugliest Girl In Town,' which turned to be a commercial flop. During the show, this chassis featured a painted psychedelic graphics around the headlights and the sides. Followed by the cancellation of the show, it was resprayed to a red finish, before being acquired by Toyota USA in 1981, and went for a full restoration by the Santa Monica-based Hill & Vaughn for $125,000.

Unfortunately, this 2000GT suffered a fire, resulting to a body damage. Therefore, it went for another restoration by Shin Yoshikawa of Studio Time Capsule in 2006. After inspecting the car's body, the flaws from the first restoration wasn't discovered until decades later, where the red finish painted during restoration was inappropriate, as it was based on the Ferrari color palette, which is different from the original Solar Red color of the 2000GT. What Mr. Yoshida spotted was a tiny arc of gold on the car's door latch. In addition, he discovered the car's damaged body, likely a result from its appearance on TV, despite being repaired with body filler. As a result, he cross-referenced against the frame and engine codes, confirming the original color was Gold Metallic.

Mr. Yoshida carefully restored the damaged body with stud nails, and placed them on the center of the dents in order to thoroughly pull the shape back, followed by the tinting the aluminium with molten lead. Last, but not least, the car's dented shape was hammered and smoothly filed to its original shape. Then, Mr. Yoshida repainted the car back to its original Gold Metallic, by undergoing a bare metal respray. Then, he applied the paint with 7 layers of gold paint, followed by sealing the paint with 3 layers of lacquer.

Once finished, this chassis was finally returned to Toyota USA. It was displayed at the Toyota USA Automobile Museum in Torrance, California, before closing its doors in 2017. It is now displayed at the Toyota Experience Center in Plano, Texas, alongside chassis MF10‑10122.