A Toyota 2000GT Crushed by a Tree
One of the 351 Toyota 2000GTs, the most beautiful, most desirable and most expensive car ever made by Akio Toyoda, was crushed by a tree in the Toyama Prefecture, Japan.
According to reports, the 30 meter tall beech tree fell on the poor car as it was driving underneath. The tree was 1.9 m thick, and was severely rotten at its core. The 28 year-old driver got away with minor leg and arm injuries. This is miraculous judging by the state of the wreck.
The car was not so lucky however. A quick look would be enough to dismiss the hulk of metal as totalled, but since these vehicles command very high prices at auction (one of them sold for $1.15 million last year), it may be possible that a restoration will be planned.
For those of you not familiar with this model, the Toyota 2000GT was the first Asian supercar, and it showed the world that the Japanese could build a proper sports car that would rival Europe’s best. With an inline-six producing 150 hp, this sleek coupe was capable of out-handling a Porsche 911. Assembled by Yamaha, the 2000GT sold for $6800 in 1967, which was more than Jaguars and Porsches.
While this news is tragic for classic car enthusiasts, I keep hoping that this car was a replica. This would surely ease the conscience of that old tree…
