Yahoo Autos Tree Crushes Million-Dollar Toyota 2000 GT
If a tree falls in the forest—and hits a Toyota 2000 GT—you can bet you'll hear the owner make a sound.
In a freak accident, a rotting tree fell on one of these million-dollar sports cars, the NHK (via Car and Driver) reports. While the accident in the Gokayama area of Nanto in Japan's Toyama prefecture left the car crushed beyond recognition, the driver reportedly escaped with only scrapes and bruises.
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Estimated to be 6.2 feet wide at its thickest point, the three destroyed one of the most valuable Japanese cars in existence. Just 351 copies of the 2000 GT were reportedly built, between 1967 and 1970. One sold last year at auction for $1.15 million.
Most people know the 2000 GT as the car from the James Bond film You Only Live Twice (although Bond drove a custom-made convertible version), but the 2000 GT was also a symbol of the Japanese auto industry's coming of age.
Sporting a Yamaha-developed inline-six and styling that copied the best from Europe, the 2000 GT was intended as a halo model. Think of it as the better-looking ancestor of the Lexus LFA.
Today, the 2000 GT is one of a handful of Japanese cars to attract the same fevered attention from collectors as comparable European and U.S. models. With one less example on the road, that isn't going to change.
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