2000 GT sells for $1.1 million

http://www.classicandsportscar.com/news/classic-car-auctions/toyota-2000gt-tops-a-million-bucks-in-texas

$1.1 million.... crack pipe or nice price?

A "well sold" number for sure, but prices for these cars have been creeping up steadily for awhile now. As interest in classic Japanese cars increases in general, this is not unexpected.

crack crack crack crack

two years ago i went to Japan with a friend who was buying one and it also is a right hand drive he spend $485,000.00 on it and was watching this auction very closely. we had dinner yesterday and he said that the first thing he did was raised his insurance coverage on it and he put feelers out that it maybe for sale. as far as "crack pipe or nice price" if i owned one i would be saying that was a fair price.. but after being up close and personal with one i think $485k is to much....

Its out of the Don Davis collection, which means you can eat off the inside of the gas tank, perform brain surgery in the engine bay, and assemble a gtr engine in the interior. Every car from that collection I have seen looks better than when it would have been new.

I think 8-900k is a fair estimate for it, but as with any auction.....it always takes two buyers to find out who wants it the most.

I don't understand paying that much money for something that will never be driven.

Sky_Render wrote: I don't understand paying that much money for something that will never be driven.

At that pricepoint you've got to adjust your thinking to "buying art" not "buying a car."

Huh is this the first Japanese car to auction for 7 digits?

Sky_Render wrote: I don't understand paying that much money for something that will never be driven.

I don't understand paying that much money for something that will be driven!

If it's an investment and is going to return some on the purchase price, sure. But for a toy, no way.

Seems reasonable.

And it was not the highest seller of the auction.

Ferrari that earned the most money as a 1967 330GTS scooped $1,936,000

Crackpipe...but no more crackpipe than guys spending 6 figures on 14 second, horrible handling muscle cars IMHO. Interesting point made at the Mitty this weekend: It'll be interesting to see if the ricer crowd starts driving down the price of American Muscle in the next 20 years or so. Will your average 50-year-old want an ITR over a Hemi Cuda?

You can look at this as far as what the market says, and you can look at this as far as your own common sense would dictate. In either case, I think the price is absurd. But I also have a hard time understanding how a Cuda, which was a flaming piece of drek when new can be worth a million. Rare yes, but it's just a car. People are nuts...Or maybe I'm just bitter because I sold my mint, real deal '70 Chevelle SS454 LS-6 for $3k in 1979.

poopshovel wrote: Crackpipe...but no more crackpipe than guys spending 6 figures on 14 second, horrible handling muscle cars IMHO. Interesting point made at the Mitty this weekend: It'll be interesting to see if the ricer crowd starts driving down the price of American Muscle in the next 20 years or so. Will your average 50-year-old want an ITR over a Hemi Cuda?

What is valuable in the collector car market has always been driven by what middle aged men dreamt of when they were kids.

GameboyRMH wrote: Huh is this the first Japanese car to auction for 7 digits?

That's a very good question.

Sky_Render wrote: I don't understand paying that much money for something that will never be driven.

If you drive a 100 point car, it quickly becomes < 90 point car and the price goes down accordingly. Personally I totally disagree with this this. I want to see a car get used. I am not a car show kind of a guy.

Crap. If it's like the muscle car idiocy now 1970's 4 door Corollas are going to start changing hands in the $30k range.

poopshovel wrote: Crackpipe...but no more crackpipe than guys spending 6 figures on 14 second, horrible handling muscle cars IMHO. Interesting point made at the Mitty this weekend: It'll be interesting to see if the ricer crowd starts driving down the price of American Muscle in the next 20 years or so. Will your average 50-year-old want an ITR over a Hemi Cuda?

I feel the affect of Japanese cars on the musclecar market will be minimal - at least 20 years from now. That's not to say cars like the ITR won't develope a following and increase in value over time for clean, unmolested examples, it's just that by and large, muscle cars will have a raw appeal to your average guy who's into cars, even if they were the cars his father had.

To put it another way, I was still in diapers when the muscle car era was going away in 1971, but I lust after Mustangs, Chargers and GTO's of that era much more than any car from my 80's youth.

Part of me also wonders if some of this is a little like the first car-value craze of the early 90's when the market looked unstable and investers started looked for other places to park their money. Some did well. Quite a few got out too late when everything crashed a few years later.

I've been offered several thousand dollars more for my CRX than I have into it. And a nice low mile '91 CRX-si recently sold on Ebay for $14k. I bought a new CRX-si in '91. It had a few options, like A/C, mudflaps, floor mats. I paid $10.3k out the door for it. I've recently seen other examples that indicate that Japanese cars are starting to be appreciated more, probably as the kids that grew up with them are getting older. Will a CRX ever be worth what a 2000GT is? I seriously doubt it. But sometimes the things that gain value when they age aren't what anyone expected when they were new.

It also helps that many Japanese cars are rusting into oblivion.

Leno drives his Bugatti type 37 around. He has video of it on the hwy. If it were someone like that, I'd be all for it. Otherwise, yes, this is more art than car, and to my eyes there are prettier cars out there for the price. Unless this guy has a garage full of MGA's, 550 spyder's, etc.

Ian F wrote: I feel the affect of Japanese cars on the musclecar market will be minimal - at least 20 years from now. That's not to say cars like the ITR won't develope a following and increase in value over time for clean, unmolested examples, it's just that by and large, muscle cars will have a raw appeal to your average guy who's into cars, even if they were the cars his father had. To put it another way, I was still in diapers when the muscle car era was going away in 1971, but I lust after Mustangs, Chargers and GTO's of that era much more than any car from my 80's youth. Part of me also wonders if some of this is a little like the first car-value craze of the early 90's when the market looked unstable and investers started looked for other places to park their money. Some did well. Quite a few got out too late when everything crashed a few years later.

Troof. I mean I wasn't born until 1988 but I would be much more likely to spend big money (assuming I had big money) on a classic muscle car then an ITR even though I love Hondas.

The 2000GT is a stunning car in person. Have no idea what they drive like, but I could sit and look at it for a while. If I had enough money, I might want one. It is really the first Japanese collectible. That alone makes it worth something to many collectors.

Personally, there are a few cars I'd spend big money on if I was a many times over millionaire. First, a 917-30 would be sitting in my garage, as would an Alfa Romeo Stradale.

I thought Mustang GT when I read the title. That'd be a crackhead price.

2000GT restored, well, it is quite a special Toyota, you know, first Japanese supercar and all that jazz.

Well there's only 337 of them and I am unsure of how many have returned to the earth. It's a fantastic looking car though I'm not sure I could part with 1.1 million for a car. I love cars and all but that seems a bit excessive for something that will never be driven within even 20% of it's limits.

Of course people buy wine as an investment and never drink it too so I guess it's all just speculation.