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Win an AUTOart 1:18 Toyota 2000G

18 February, 2015

The Toyota 2000GT was Japan’s first high-speed two-seater fastback coupé (one convertible version being produced for use in the James Bond movie You Only Live Twice) to break numerous international speed and endurance records during the late ’70s and even drawing the attention of Carroll Shelby, who prepared a team of cars for use in the 1968 SCCA production car race series in the US.

Only 351 examples of the swoopy-looking 2000GT were built between 1967 and 1970 (some sources quote a lower figure of 337) but the car was hardly a sales success. However, today, surviving examples are worth serious money — especially in their homeland.

This gorgeous 1:18 die-cast model comes from AUTOart’s Millennium collection and, as we’ve come to expect from AUTOart, detailing is exemplary. The Yamaha-developed 112kW twin-cam six looks totally authentic with its battery of Solex carburettors. The model also includes gearbox pop-up headlamps, opening access panels located on either side of the car and, of course, a fully detailed interior.

Thanks to the good guys at Toymod, the NZ AUTOart distributor, we have one example of this stunning Toyota 2000GT to give away to a lucky reader — just answer the following question:

Q:    Yamaha developed the 2000GT’s high-spec overhead cam cylinder head — but from which humdrum Toyota saloon did the engine’s bottom-end originate?

 

This competition is now closed

“Gotcha!’’ The continuing tale of a Nissan/Datsun tragic – part two

8 May, 2026

In 1996, I was on a mission to buy a suitable pavement scorcher and visited the now-defunct Manukau City Car Fair. Unbelievably, among the sea of four-door utilitarian Japanese compacts was the absolute jewel in the crown, my automobile wet dream — a 1985 two-door R30 RS Nissan Skyline FJ20 Turbo five-speed manual in nice condition. The owner wanted $10,000 — a great deal.
But what did I do? I bailed out, paralysed by indecision. The money would have been a stretch, but it was the worst automotive choice I ever made. Instead, I went for a rusty Toyota Sprinter 8 Valve Twin Cam Coupé, which was pretty terminal from the get-go. I know. We’ve all done it, but there was really no excuse for passing up the Skyline, and I was haunted by that for years.

Last Tango in the Fast Lane

30 April, 2026

In the mid ’80s, I locked into a serious Nissan/Datsun performance obsession. It could have kicked off with my ’82 Datsun Sunny, though this would have been a bit of a stretch of the imagination, given its normally aspirated 1.2-litre motor — not the sort of thing to unleash radical road warrior dreams. But it did plant a seed, and it was a sweet little machine and surprisingly quick, in contrast to all the diabolical English offerings I had endured.
I was living in South Auckland at the time and was an unrepentant petrolhead. Motor racing was my drug of choice, and I followed the scene slavishly. Saloon car racing, with the arrival of the international Group A formula, was having a serious renaissance here and in Australia and Europe. There was suddenly an exotic air in local racing that had been absent for 15 years.
I was transfixed by this new frontier of motor racing that had hit our tracks in 1985–87 and the new array of machinery on display. In 1986, the Nissan Skyline RS DR30 made a blinding impression on me. The Australian Fred Gibson-run, Peter Jackson-sponsored team of George Fury and Glenn Seton were the fastest crew of the 1986 Australian Touring Car Championship. But Kiwi legend Robbie Francevic snuck through to win the Aussie Championship in his Volvo 240T after a strong start and consistent finishes.