Bobby Rahal’s Toyota 2000GT Just Hit Auction—And Bidding Is Already Over $750K

Key Points

• Bobby Rahal’s 1967 Toyota 2000GT is being auctioned with extensive restoration and documentation.
• The car boasts global provenance, a class win at Amelia Island 2024, and rare production status.
• Auction interest is high, reflecting its status as a prized Japanese collectible classic.

Bobby Rahal is letting go of one of the crown jewels in Japanese car history. His 1967 Toyota 2000GT, chassis MF10-10128, is currently listed on Bring a Trailer as a dealer-consignment Premium auction through Graham Rahal Performance.

One of just 351 examples built during a three-year production run, this right-hand-drive Solar Red coupe comes with an unusually well-documented global backstory, a fresh mechanical pedigree, and a recent class win at the 2024 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance. As of this writing, bidding sits at $751,251 with several days left on the clock, and interest is heavy, with thousands of views and more than 3,400 watchers.

A World-Traveling 2000GT With Serious Provenance
Toyota and Yamaha developed the 2000GT together, debuting the prototype at the 1965 Tokyo Motor Show and hand-building production cars at Yamaha’s Itawa factory starting in 1967. Styled by Satoru Nozaki, the low-slung fastback coupe features pop-up headlights, driving lamps faired into the nose, bullet-style fender mirrors, and louvered panels flanking the hood, with the contoured roof standing under 46 inches tall.

This particular car is said to have been sold new in Mozambique before being acquired by a South African collector in the late 1970s. It briefly passed through the U.S. in 1986, then went to a Costa Rican Toyota importer who kept it for the next 28 years. Between 2013 and 2014, the car underwent a full refurbishment at Restauraciones Clásicas in Costa Rica, including removal of the body from its steel X-shaped backbone frame and a refinish in Solar Red. The bumpers, grille surround, and other brightwork were replated by The Finishing Touch in Chicago.

A UK buyer later commissioned additional paint and bodywork in 2015 from Paulerspury Coachworks, targeting the hood, tailgate, right-front fender, quarter panels, and left side of the cowl. The car then sold on BaT in 2016, returned to the platform again in 2021, and was purchased by its current owner, three-time CART champion and 1986 Indy 500 winner Bobby Rahal. Under Rahal’s ownership, the car won its class at Amelia Island in 2024, and ribbons plus concours memorabilia are included with the sale. 

Refreshed Chassis, Period Cabin, And A 3M DOHC Six
Underneath, the 2000GT’s Yamaha-built backbone chassis carries four-wheel independent suspension and servo-assisted disc brakes all around. This car rides on 15-inch magnesium alloy wheels secured by bright knock-offs and wrapped in 165HR15 Vredestein Sprint Classic tires, with a matching spare on Dunlop rubber in the rear cargo area. A 2015 mechanical refresh by Classic Performance Engineering in Bicester, UK, brought rebuilt brake calipers, reconditioned rotors, a new servo, replacement Eibach springs, Öhlins shocks, and a rebuilt steering rack.

Power comes from the 1,988cc 3M inline-six, which uses a cast-iron block and a Yamaha-designed aluminum twin-cam head with hemispherical combustion chambers. Induction is via triple Mikuni-Solex 40 PHH carburetors rebuilt in 2015. That same round of work included reconditioned camshafts, valve shimming, and the installation of a Facet fuel pump. Power is sent to the rear wheels through an all-synchromesh five-speed manual transmission and a limited-slip differential, both rebuilt in 2015, along with a new flywheel, clutch, release bearing, clutch master cylinder, and refurbished driveshafts.

Inside, the right-hand-drive cockpit is trimmed in black vinyl with knitted seat inserts and color-matched carpeting. Wood veneer accents the dash and center console, and the wood-rimmed steering wheel with matching hub fronts a 250-km/h speedometer and a 7,000-rpm redline tachometer. The five-digit odometer shows 78,000 kilometers (about 48,000 miles), with roughly 50 kilometers added under Rahal’s ownership. Auxiliary gauges monitor fuel level, oil pressure and temperature, coolant temperature, and amperage, all sitting above a pushbutton AM radio. Period-correct Jeco timepieces include a standard clock and a dual-faced rally timer with stop/start and reset buttons.

A Blue-Chip Toyota In A Very Different Showroom World
Today, most shoppers encounter Toyota through efficient commuters and rugged family trucks, from hybrids like the Prius to body-on-frame staples such as the Toyota 4Runner. At the other end of the spectrum, the company is preparing customer race hardware like the Toyota GR GT3. The 2000GT sits in a different lane altogether: a hand-built, 1960s halo car that laid the groundwork for everything that followed.

That context is what makes Bobby Rahal’s example so compelling. You get one of 351 cars, a globe-spanning ownership trail, documented restoration and mechanical work, a recent class win at a major concours, and a current listing through a high-profile racing name. The BaT lot (MF10-10128) is offered on dealer consignment out of Zionsville, Indiana, with refurbishment records, photo documentation, invoices, Amelia Island memorabilia, and a clean Pennsylvania title in the name of Rahal’s dealership. There’s also a modest $245.28 document fee tacked on by the seller.

With just nine bids on the board so far and days left before the auction closes, it would be surprising if this 2000GT didn’t climb well beyond its current mid-six-figure number. For collectors who see Japanese classics as core blue-chip assets rather than outliers, this is exactly the sort of car that doesn’t come around very often.