While the majority of the world have received the Toyota Corona in one form or another, only the Japanese themselves had the privilege of receiving the 2000 GT version. They are rarely seen outside of Japan, which makes this particular example, located in Shingle Springs, California, and listed for sale here on Craigslist, a pretty rare opportunity to own an unusual and distinctive car. Barn Finder Roger spotted the Toyota for us, so I have to thank him for that.
The Burgundy paint on the Corona looks quite good. The owner says that the car is virtually corrosion free. This is no real surprise because Toyotas of this era were built pretty solidly, and corrosion issues in Japanese cars only really started to appear in the latter half of the 1970s, and Toyota was less prone than cars from other manufacturers. The owner claims that the car has only covered just over 20,000 miles, but my mantra of wanting to see documentation on that still holds true. On outward appearance, the Corona does look quite promising.
It’s when you open the hood on the GT that you discover what the fuss is about with this car The 2000 GT was a JDM only car, and it came kitted out with a 2.0-liter twin-cam engine, and a Toyota P-51 5-speed manual transmission. The engine is fed by a pair of Mikuni carburetors and produces around 130hp. That’s quite respectable power for a car of this size, and the owner says that it runs and drives exceptionally well. This certainly wasn’t Toyota’s first foray into smaller twin-cam performance cars, as I think that we’ve all seen Celicas from the same era that were similarly equipped.
The interior of the Corona has managed to avoid the scourge of deteriorating plastic trim and looks to be in really good condition for a car of this age. There are no obvious cracks or problems to report, and that array of gauges set into the dash certainly allow you to monitor the health of the little engine working away under the hood. The car is fitted with a wood-rimmed Nardi wheel, which would be a nice, comfortable item to have, especially in warmer climates where plastic rims can get pretty hot. I am also partial to the fact that it is right-hand drive. For those of us who were born and raised outside the USA, driving one of these is second nature. Trust me, if you’ve never driven an RHD car before, you will be amazed at just how quickly you can adapt to it.
This is a rare bird, there’s no doubt about it. While the Celica twin-cam was built in significant numbers and exported to various countries, the Corona 2000 GT was not built in significant numbers in Japan, and only a handful have ever made it past their shores. If you buy this, what you get is a blend of surprisingly sprightly performance, blended with an air of exclusivity. This is not the first time this particular car has been on the market. It was last on the market in 2014, and it sold for around $19,000. That exclusivity now comes at a price, as the current owner has set the price at $26,995. This rise in value is not particularly surprising, and if the car remains well cared for, I would expect the value to continue to increase in coming years.
Now THAT is cool! I wonder if those are the original seats, they look so modern. I bet it would give any number of highly regarded Europeans of the era a run for their money. I’m talking to you 2002, GTV, and 914!
Oh, what a rare beauty and looks like it’s worth every cent of the asking price.
Awesome looking Corona. I’ve always loved old school JDM Japanese cars.
I think these old JDM cars are really cool. As a kid back in the 70’s my mothers close friend would always have a Toyota. Everyone that I was related to had either an Oldsmobile, Pontiac, or a Cadillac so riding in a Toyota was really strange to me. This friend’s husband was into these cars. He had this old rusty Corolla that he fixed up and I remember that there was this leaver sticking out of the floor he kept moving with a smile on his face as we would fly through traffic.
I agree. I’ve always found JDM Japanese version more interesting, sometimes more attractive than our American market versions. I remember seeing what looked like a 1980-81 Datsun 280ZX. The difference was the steering wheel was on the opposite side of the car to what we get. Upon closer inspection, I found that it was a Nissan Fairlady.