The Aston Martin DB5 may be the most famous Bond car, and the Lotus Esprit the most outrageous, but the rarest is a Toyota.
The Rarest Bond Car
Credit: Robert lloyd Ashton
When people think of James Bond's cars, their minds invariably drift towards Aston Martin. The silver DB5 has become inseparable from the character, while the Lotus Esprit's underwater transformation remains one of cinema's most memorable automotive moments.
Yet ask those who spend their lives around the world's greatest collector cars, and many will quietly point towards an altogether different machine.
The Toyota 2000GT.
The Toyota 2000GT
Credit: Toyota Motor Corporation
With just 351 examples produced between 1967 and 1970, it remains one of the rarest production cars ever to wear a 007 connection.
Daniel Craig himself has described it as his all-time favourite Bond car, and today it commands values comfortably in excess of £1 million - often several times the price of an equivalent Jaguar E-Type.
Daniel Craig's all-time favourite Bond car
Credit: Toyota Motor Corporation
Its existence surprised almost everyone. In the years following the Second World War, Japan had become synonymous with small, dependable and inexpensive cars.
Europe, meanwhile, continued to dominate the world of sporting grand tourers.
Toyota 700 advertisement (1964)
Credit: Toyota Motor Corporation
Then, in December 1964, Toyota and Yamaha agreed to collaborate on a car that would challenge Europe's very best. Their targets were ambitious: the Jaguar E-Type and Porsche's newly introduced 911.
1964 Porsche 911 showroom poster
Credit: Porsche AG
When the finished car appeared at the Tokyo Motor Show in 1965, it exceeded expectations.
Beneath its elegant proportions sat engineering every bit as sophisticated as its European rivals, while its build quality hinted at the standards that would later define the Japanese motor industry.
The Toyota 2000GT unveiled (1965)
Credit: Toyota Motor Corporation
Its badge, however, lacked the prestige buyers expected at such a lofty price. Costing more than both the E-Type and the 911, the 2000GT proved a difficult sell.
The beautifully sculpted body also came with an exceptionally low roofline, making the cockpit a snug fit for anyone much above 5 feet 10 inches. That presented an unexpected problem when You Only Live Twice arrived in Japan.
The low roofline of the Toyota 2000GT
Credit: Kevin van Campenhout courtesy of RM Sotheby's
Director Lewis Gilbert had originally planned to use a Chevrolet Camaro during the film's chase scenes. It was Toyota works racing driver Sachio Fukuzawa who persuaded him that a Japanese film deserved a Japanese sports car.
There was just one complication. Sean Connery simply wouldn't fit.
Sean Connery and the Toyota 2000GT in You Only Live Twice (1967)
Credit: Pictorial Press
Rather than abandon the idea, Toyota took the extraordinary decision to remove the roof altogether. In just two weeks, the factory produced two bespoke open-top 2000GTs exclusively for filming.
No production convertibles were ever offered for sale, making the Bond cars unique among the entire production run. Suddenly, one of the world's rarest sports cars had become one of Bond's most memorable.
The open-top Toyota 2000GT arrives at Pinewood Studios with Japanese actress Mie Hama, cast as Kissy Suzuki, for the filming of You Only Live Twice (30 November 1966)
Credit: PA Images
Of course, no Bond car would be complete without gadgets. Sony supplied an impressive suite of technology, including closed-circuit television, a video recorder, concealed cameras behind the front number plate, two-way radios and a voice-operated tape recorder.
All of it disappeared elegantly behind a beautifully finished rosewood dashboard, crafted by Yamaha's piano artisans - a reminder that this was a collaboration between three of Japan's great industrial names.
The gadget laden Toyota 2000GT driven by Akiko Wakabayashi as Aki in You Only Live Twice (1967)
Credit: Pictorial Press
Today, the Toyota 2000GT occupies a unique place in automotive history. It announced Japan's arrival as a builder of truly world-class sports cars and remains one of the most beautiful automobiles ever produced.
With just 351 examples built, rarity has become its greatest asset. Only two were converted into open-top Bond cars for You Only Live Twice, making them among the most exclusive vehicles ever to appear in a 007 film.
Sean Connery in one of just two factory-built open-top Toyota 2000GTs created exclusively for the filming of You Only Live Twice (1967)
Credit: Rex
The Aston Martin DB5 may forever be the definitive Bond car.
But the rarest?
That honour belongs to a Toyota.
From the silver screen to the toy box, the Toyota 2000GT secured its place as the rarest of all Bond cars
Credit: My Childhood Memories
Footnote:
Long before the 2000GT challenged Europe's finest sports cars, Toyota's future depended upon an altogether different machine. Discover how a rejected military prototype became the Land Cruiser in Crazy Horses.