Vintage Tuner Cup Entry; 1964-1972
KC Motorsport Toyota 2000GTO Shelby Special
Purchaseable; Toyota Classics Dealer
289 bhp@6600rpm
227 ft.lb@5000rpm
985kg / 3.450 WPR
KC Motorsport introduces its very first one-off vehicle, specifically built for Historic GT and Classic Endurance racing - the Toyota 2000GTO Shelby Special.
The 2000GT was a collaboration between Toyota and Yamaha based closely on designs originally pitched to Nissan by German designer Albrecht Goertz. This particular chassis has one of the most fascinating provenances of any car we've ever purchased. It began life as a Toyota factory-built racer that finished third in 1966 Japanese Grand Prix and won the 24 Hours of Fuji in 1967. It went on to an astonishing showing in FIA 72-Hour endurance trials, setting so many records that Porsche engineers felt compelled to build a one-off 911R just to break these records. Shortly after its sweeping success at FIA however, it was involved in a disastrous crash with a pace car, and was reported scrapped by Toyota. At the same time, across the Pacific, Carroll Shelby decided to buy a group of 2000GT's to compete in the 1968 SCCA Class CP season. Toyota officially reported that three models were sold to Shelby straight from the factory. Recently though, our buyer had dinner with the motorsports legend, who confided in him that Toyota sold him FOUR cars, the fourth being the wrecked carcass of the FIA record-setter, which he still owned. Our buyer expressed strong interest in the car, and after promising Shelby that the car would see active competition, managed to get him off of it - under the promise that Shelby himself would have a hand in its rebuild.
We were more than glad to oblige. Upon the chassis's arrival, we found much to our delight that it came with the Holy Grail in 2000GT circles - the ultra-rare Yamaha-massaged MF12 2.3L 2M inline-6 motor. It's reported that only 9 of the 351 2000GT's produced between 1967 and 1970 used the 2M motor, the rest running on the 2.0L 3M inline-6. Due to the car's race-prepped nature, our work consisted primarily of rebuilding the motor to include fuel injection, an extreme cam profile, and revitalizing the suspension. We repainted it from white race livery to factory red, added a modern aero kit and lightweight alloys, and called it a day.
The 2000GTO SS is a devastating historic racer. Its perfect suspension balance and mild oversteer attitude would make it feel right at home in the Mille Miglia or the Targa Florio. 289 horses are channeled through a period-correct Shelby-built 5-speed gearbox. It sits on a fully independent double-wishbone suspension with sway bars both front and rear, and carves through the corners with aplomb thanks to a modern viscous coupled limited-slip differential set tight enough to keep total control in a race, but loose enough to overwhelm and initiate drift when the mood strikes.
Driving it is a sublime experience. It's just playful enough in the rear to thrill its driver, but controlled enough to go door-to-door with any car of its time, and most any car of today. Though a quirk of the stock chassis is a late-onset transition to understeer in sustained sweepers, in our tune understeer is very rarely an issue with appropriate throttle control, and if it does become a problem, give the car a quick brake flick and it'll willingly transition into gentle oversteer rotation. Its driveable anywhere, from the smooth surfaces of its old stomping grounds at Fuji, to the undulating hills at the Nordschleife. Treat it well, and it will reward you. Treat it badly, and it should even forgive you!
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Parts List
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RC Exhaust
Racing Brakes, BBC
Stage 3 NA Tuning, Port Polish, Engine Balancing, Racing Chip
FC Transmission, Triple-Plated Clutch, RC Flywheel, FC LSD, Carbon Driveshaft
FC Suspension
Stage 3 Weight Reduction, NO Rigidity Increase
S3 Tires
Wing
Oil Change
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Settings
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BBC: 6/6
Spring Rates: 4.5/4.2
Ride Height: 125/140
Damper (Bound): 4/2
Damper (Rebound): 6/6
Camber: 2.8/2.0
Toe: 2/0
Stabilizers: 2/3
Downforce: 30/20
Differential: 5/15/5
Ballast Weight: 0
Ballast Location: -30
Gearing: First, perform the transmission trick - max out the final drive ratio, then set the autoset to 25, then back to 1.
After doing this, adjust the final drive ratio to 3.710 for a good balance for most tracks. Adjust ONLY the final drive ratio as needed to alter top speed. I wouldn't go lower than 3.450 - this is well into the redline but not at the limiter at the end of the backstraight at the Nurburgring.
and thats what i was gonna do. im lookin into the club racers category with another car, i dunno yet
I wouldn't be surprised if the GNX dropped more than 5sec off its default settings lap time. I wish I knew what that lap time was now, but I can't remember, oh well.
