Toyota 2000 GT: A Must-See
Auto museums have a magnetic effect on automobile enthusiasts, and Larry Chen recently visited an exemplary one located in Japan–the Toyota Automobile Museum. Being a famous car photographer from Los Angeles, Chen is well-known for offering people virtual excursions to landmarks most would be unlikely to explore.
Similar to the Henry Ford Museum in Michigan, the Toyota Automobile Museum houses a variety of different vehicles from different makes. One of them is a Model A that was manufactured in Japan following the inauguration of a Blue Oval assembly plant in Yokohama for the historic Model T in 1925.
The Original Toyota Crown has a well-known spot in the museum. Unfortunately there is not much familiarity with this model in the U.S., as it was phased out during the 1970s. Thankfully, the Japanese motor vehicle producer reintroduced the 16th generation hybrid rendition as of last year.
An emblem causing a recent transformation is the Land Cruiser. Particularly, Chen featured a blue 1957 Land Cruiser FJ25L, featuring its side views and steel rims. The 2024 form markedly departs from the initial armed forces-influenced auto and will become available in the US upcoming year.
The crown jewel of the Toyota fleet is the iconic 2000 GT parked side-by-side with the Sports 800. Viewed as Japan’s inaugural sports car, the 2000 GT contended with opponent cars like the greatly priceless Ferrari 250 GTO.
Honda is an additional Japanese brand highlighted at the museum. One of their cars on display is the S500, the predecessor in spirit to the S2000 and the automaker’s very first creation for passengers after they began producing motorbikes during the later 1940s.
Previous generations of the Nissan Z and the iconic R32 Skyline GT-R can also be found in Chen’s favored portion (principally as a result of him having a Datsun 240Z himself). His Z car took around 20 years to finish, and it has been modded with an SR20 engine.
The Toyota Automobile Museum showcases a variety of different foreign automobile companies, for example Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Renault, Ferrari, and Cadillac. So even if you’re not able to travel to Japan, you can still get an up-close look at the vehicles through the video footage.
