Toyota's First Sports Car Has A Feature That Became Integral to the Porsche 911 [Toyota Sport 800]
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 25 авг 2024
- Toyota's first sports car, the Sports 800, is remembered fondly in Japan as a revered classic, but it is also unique in that it was the only car ever manufactured in left and right hand drive for the same market.. why was that?
![[DOKKAN BATTLE] Worldwide Campaign Announcement Video](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/zxfEiMksZQs/mqdefault.jpg)
What a fantastic little car. Never knew this one existed. You can definitely see a family resemblance to the 2000gt.
Yes the first shot made me think 2000Gt the head lights.
Interesting little car but I think you will find that the Triumph TR4 Surry top was the first production car to have a targa top version available . Good video 👍
What a cracking little thing. Never knew it even existed! The front definitely resembles a 2000.
Thanks chap!! Take care!
I love it.
That sound from the very start is clearly a twin.
This quirky lightweight is definitely right up my street.
The front end is reminiscent of the 2000GT with those light covers.
The little bit of history regarding the LHD cars for Okinawa is very interesting too.
Great review Jack.
Keep up the good work.
What a little gem of a car! I love early Japanese sports cars - they were always very quirky and interesting.
I've never seen one before... It's gorgeous... lots of Italian style about it.... and as a 2CV fan, of course, I love it...
Thank you Jack, for your comments on the TS800. I am happy 😊 and proud to own one. It's my pride and joy of all my cars.
Never heard of this Toyota before,
I think it is absolutely cool and quite good looking, actually better than the period Honda,
Though I’ve had and still have large displacement powerful cars, I always admired those tiny engine equipped automobiles and the ingenuity of their owners to make them go,
I have watched racing where the all the cars were Trabants in East Germany.
Anybody can make even a toilet go fast given enough “stupid “ money.
Those fellows back then had neither big cheque books nor an after market industry,
Everything was backyard mechanic “ McGivered “
Great video !
What a little beauty. I learned to properly drive using momentum instead of big power on a small little car with similar power figures and I absolutely love this little gem. Thx for featuring this
Thank you Chris and totally agree… momentum can be great fun too!
What a fascinating story about a fascinating little car. I’d never heard of the Toyota Sport 800 so you’ve definitely taught me something. Brilliant 👏
It's a rare day when I encounter a car I both have never heard of and also really like, that seems like a very pure experience and it looks quite good as well.
I've been fortunate enough to see one of these in the UK at a local car show (had been publicised in the local news paper as there's so few). Although not strictly just JDM, the Datsun Z was sold in LHD and RHD in Japan.
what a lovely little car that ive never heard of😍
What a lovely little motorcar and such a great story behind it. Great video mate, keep up the good work.
Your entry and exit contortions reminded me so much of my similar antics when I owned a Lotus Europa back in the 70's. 😁I was not aware of the existence of this little beauty, and it's easy to see how the design cues flowed through to the Toyota 2000GT.
Yesterday I saw a movie with a Japanese dog named Hatchi. More emotional than any love story. Interesting car. Front looking somehow like 2000Gt
A tear jerker...
I love how the front lights resemble the 2000GT.
Lovely little gem. Like some people already pointed out, a few styling cues from the 2000. I want to point out, that the Fiat 500 (loved that thing, I had one in my student days) had a parallel twin 2-cylinder, my F-model pumped out 18 hp. This 800 got a horizontally opposed (boxer) engine similar to the 2CV.
One of the best channels on RUclips such rare and quirky cars. Loved the alpine video, the lotus video. So so entertaining and informative:)
Great find, what a great little car. At first glance it looks like it would be a low production Alfa or Abarth special! love the little ones, we in the states never had much to choose from in the fun micro cars.
That was enjoyable to watch, learning about a quirky car that I never knew existed.
Thank you! 🙂👍
I had one just like it, color and all, but LHD :) Cute as a bug!. I got mine from the original owner who served in Okinawa when it was new and he brought it back with him. Wish I hadn't sold it a while back!
That’s the first time I have seen or heard of one of these cars, keep on finding these gems Jack 👍👍👍
One of those with a modern bike engine... and some suspension and brakes to make it not lethal... would be a gnarly restomod.
Wonderful car, thanks for bringing us this little gem!
The Triumph TR4 ws the first car with a Targa top, but it's called a Surrey Top. It came out before the Toyota.
Love the car, though.
What a nice surprise to see a thumbnail with you and a ヨタハチ. Very cool car and video. (PS. Just a heads up Jack, the car's nickname is pronounced Yotahachi with a T).
love all the latest content you are putting out. Learning a lot. Thank you!
Thanks Jack, for the very interesting little car. I like it but I wish that they had put a normal engine in it and made it a bit more appealing to the average sports car fan. I almost bought the Honda 800 once but it was so tiny that you didn't need a garage for it. You could just park it in your DogHouse when you weren't using it. A little bigger and I would have bought it.
What a beautiful car brilliant video jack👌
Hi Jack ! You said the Yoda Hachi was intended for the Japanese market and that the LHD vehicles were intended for the US service men in Okinawa only . That is not correct , sorry ! They were also sold new in Africa , in Angola , at that time a Portuguese colony . Almost 50 of the LHD S800 were sold new there , and were enjoyed and even raced ! A few of them made their way to Portugal after the independence of Angola in 1975 , and today I think that at least a dozen still drive here in Portugal . I also think that a very few of them were also sold new in continental Europe . Keep these interesting videos coming ! Cheers
That’s very interesting Joao, so you have any links to documents showing that? I’ve just double checked and can’t find anything about any of these being sold by Toyota outside of Japan. Could it be they made their way to Africa after they were sold? In any case very interring to hear and thank you for your contribution!!
@@Number27 Hi Jack . No links to documents showing that . That was 1965/66 and everything was on paper . What I can tell you is that the importer of Toyota to Angola was a company named IMAUTO . That company imported Toyota cars and trucks since at least 1957 . The absence of documentation may also be explained by the installed chaos before and after the independence , 1974/1975 , when a lot of companies were looted and burnt , both by the MPLA and after by the Cubans . There are however photos of Toyota S800 with Angolan license plates , in Angola , some of them racing ! I will try to find some of them and I promise to send them to you . Where I live there is one , LHD , with the restoration almost completed .
I heard that about 40 were sent to the US... they didn't sell but the dealers were permitted to keep them rather than send them back to Japan.
Fascinating video, like many I had never heard of it.
Thanks and take car3 Rhett!!
that little exhaust pipe sticking out the back is funny.
edit: 45hp, what an animal.
Thanks for sharing 👍 definitely see some 2000gt in the design.
I love this car. I have it on Gran Turismo 7.
that is one cute little car. light-years ahead of what mass producers were doing here in the UK back then. the styling looks somewhere between the AMC Pacer and Toyota 2000GT
Interesting stuff Jack! I’ve never seen one of these before and I’ve never heard of it either.
ive been binge watching your channel for a week and it's wonderful . 2/3rds to 100k.
That is a fascinating little car, awesome video Jack, thank you 🙌
Love these quirky cars and your reports on them!
amazing little car...looks like someone made a 2000GT for his son, while dad drove the big car 😄
A truly lovely little car. Given the rarity I imagine it would be insane to modify one, but given that weight, can you imagine putting even a little more power into it?
A Turbo would have lifted the performance, but you learn something new every day. Never seen one of these - not ever. Great little car.
Its such a lovely little car! Like fusing two motorbike engines together…
From the rear quarter it looks like a car you'd see on one of those kiddie merry-go-rounds.
Beautiful little car, see the choke for a carburettor engine. Yes more of these please.
I discovered this car mostly due to Gran Turismo. And I'm grateful for this.
What an absolutely charming little car! I love it! :D
6:57 Whoa - look at the curve on that windscreen! Must have been expensive to make and replace! 5:29 that looks like the same way I had to get into my Frog Eye Healey Sprite with the top on.
This little car has a face nobody could hate.
That looks exactly like how you get in and out of an Austin healy sprite or an mg midget.
This is coming from decades of experience thanks to my father father
A cool cool little car! Thanks for the explanation about Okinawa too.
Good report. These little vehicles were exported to the Pacific right-hand- drive countries such as Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and likely to New Zealand. They didn't comply with Australian standards (headlights too near the ground) and therefore import banned.They were popular in Port Moresby, the expatriate ladies really liked them.
interesting and thanks for watching Tim!
They were ok for Australian Stds. At least 4 were bought in by Toyota when new but many more came in from PNG. My one has no blue compliance plate but some did get them. My headlights are listed as "as manufactured" and complied on that alone.
The reason for the left hand steering was driven by U.S. Civil Administration Policy that Japanese Manufacturers selling Cars in Okinawa, had to be left hand Drive to comply with driving rules. This applied to all makers, Nissan, Toyota, Honda and others. The hottest cars that I remember were the Isuzu Bellett, and the Healey 3000. MGBs were a popular performance car and the maximum speed was 30 mph.
Fascinating, thanks Jack
Great episode Jack and excellent research. During your opening comments on the car I couldn't help but think some might apply to you ;)
Never heard of this car . Excellent review . Thank you
Given the success of the MGTC in America was based on its popularity with returned US servicemen, I suspect Toyota wasn't the only manufacturer to look at the market for small, cheerful sports cars in that demographic, and they had the perfect captive market at Okinawa.
My buddy owned one of these. We drove it all over Japan where we were fortunate enough to have been stationed. When I first looked at the engine I thought they had stolen , or more likely built it under license from Panhard. Same torsion bar valve springs same front suspension etc. Don,t fool yourself, it would have been easy to make a lot more horsepower from those two cylinders. It was a great little car. I wish I could find one in the States to buy.
My son has an MR2....you can see where some of the design came from 😃
What an absolute gem of a car.
It is ADORABLE!
I see some S2000 styling cues on this one. Very cool little car.
Lovely car, i'm sure lovely price...Great video as ever ...
Cute, and an example i think of how even the early Japanese cars took their styling cues from some of the European manufacturers, i think from the doors to the back end it has a lot of similarity with the Elan 2+2
love the quirky car reviews, longer videos would be nice as well
Fascinating little thing. I've never seen one before.
"When we think of air-cooled two cylinder cars we think of Europeans, notably the Fiat Cinquecento..."
Citroën 2CV has left the chat..... 😱
Thank you for teaching us about this interesting sports car.
This would be a great week end fun car, I am past the power thing, and something like this would demand to be driven and i wish it were mine.
Interesting factoid on the left-hand copies!!
The 60 in the background 😍
1) Triumph was the first to use a "targa" top, it is called a Surrey Top and was available in 1961 on the TR4. (4 years prior to this Toyota)
2) The Fiat 500 had a parallel twin, that sounds different to a boxer. BMW 700 (E107) & DAF daffodil used twin flat engines,like this Toyota.
The Trumph surrey top (which I love) is a two piece removable hardtop similar to a targa. The rear-window section is bolted to the body; it also can be removed as a separate piece. However the Toyota is officially a Targa design top by definition. the aluminum, top section is removable, but the steel section with glass rear window is part of the body and adds structural strength. It does not remove.
I'm so glad you sined a light on this amaznig little car... the 2000GT is so well known and always gets the acknowledgement, but the S800 was released at the same time as the little sibling. I've also thought of this car as the Japanese Alfa/Lancia. Good work!!! xD
Thanks for sharing, a lot of people know about the Honda S600, but very few know the Toyota 800, for a moment there i thought it was the 2000 gt
Great review! Hope you are doing well, Jack!
Bret
The 2011 Toyota Sports EV-Twin is a concept car created by Toyota’s Technical College based on the Toyota S800 that is powered by 2 electric motors in place of the original’s flat twin engine
Never seen one of these before, but what a great little motor👍
The CITROEN 2 CV and the CITROEN GS were air cooled as well
Lots of '50s and '60s Panhards, as well. There was a Puch version of the FIAT 500 with a flat twin. Not forgetting the Invacar - but that can hardly be termed a sports car!
The Italians are fond of RHD drive cars when in mountain areas.. Trucks too.. I believe it's to aid visibility of the edge in manoeuvres, although that last info is unconfirmed
Autozam AZ-1 next
Great looking little car, the front reminds me a little of an old zagato
Amazing car for its time and a wanted vintage car these days. 😀
Here in the US I met an owner of one of these cars about 40 years ago. I didn’t get to see his car, but he did tell me how on a business trip to Japan he was able to bring back a replacement engine in his suitcase!
Fascinating thx Jack always interesting & different 👍🏻
Great stuff,front looks a lot like the 2000Gt especially the lights.
Even all these years later, Okinawa is like a huge US Military base. Many of the shops and restaurants are American chains or offer American orientated products and US servicemen and their families area common sight. They did however revert back to driving on the correct side of the road in 1978 I believe.
I have always liked the looks of this car and what an amazing example this one is. Would love to see more Japanese cars of that era.
Seems like all of the little Japanese micro sports cars are very cool and engaging. My personal favorite is the Honda S-800, but I'd just be _tickled_ to have one of these as well.
Just a fantastic little thing 😊🐱🤠👍
It's beautiful
What a neat little sporty car, it'd be very handy in these days of high-higher fuel prices, what a buzz to be zapping about town in one of those. I think my old Uncle may have had a little two door sedan called a "Toyopet Toyo-glide" with one of those two cylinder air cooled engines, two speed automatic, mid '60's, wow, was it slow.
Lovely car 🚘🚙🚗👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Thanks Jack! You can see their high level of detail & engineering in of lightweight components. Quirky little car!
I feel like I just met my MR2 Spyder's grandfather.
Great little car Jack and A good review
thank you for the nice review. keep on!
Never knew about this car, Jack. Very interesting.
I love it
Interesting, was sold in Canada as well.
... Checkout chaps ... Nobuteru Taniguchi, (on RUclips etc)He restorted one, fitted a 20v 4age, ap 4pots, Watanabe RS wheels, cement grey etc...