Toyota 2000GT SEV, the electric 2000GT "Crazy Project Car"

By: +David Herron; Date: 2021-01-03T23:53:23.821Z

Tags: Toyota »»»» EV Concepts »»»» Sports Cars

In Jan 2012 reports surfaced that Toyota had resurrected a classic Toyota 2000GT as the Crazy Project Car, an all electric sports car with solar panels on the hood. The original 2000GT was manufactured, in a very small production run, in the 1960's as an early attempt to prove Japanese automakers could make powerful sports cars. In place of the 2-litre inline six, Toyota engineers installed a a 35kWh lithium-ion battery supplying a 120kW (161bhp) electric motor to drive the rear wheels.

The car was first unveiled in Jan 2012 at the Tokyo Auto Salon 2012. http://gas2.org/2012/01/14/solar-electric-blast-from-the-past-toyota-2000gt-sev/

The "SEV" in the moniker is an attempt to describe this as a Solar Electric Vehicle because of solar panels embedded in the hood and rear window. However the solar panels are little more than window dressing, because there isn't enough surface space on an electric car to house enough solar panels to make any difference in the electricity on-board.

Appearance at Goodwood Festival of Speed, summer 2012

The Toyota 2000GT SEV made an appearance the Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK. For the occasion the Toyota UK Blog posted a writeup and a few pictures. http://blog.toyota.co.uk/we-drive-the-toyota-2000gt-solar-electric-vehicle

It describes a marriage of old school and new-fangled high tech. The original brake lever was maintained, but instead of operating a brake cable it operates a computerized control that remotely operates the brakes. The original dash is intact, but the gauges read off battery pack status.

And because they sacrificed the original sound of the car, they added a synthetic sound generator. http://www.halosonic.co.uk/ specialises in generated sound systems for electric vehicles. The system has two purposes -- for safety, by letting pedestrians know a car is approaching, and to create a sense of speed for the driver. The HALOsonic system is controlled by an iPad that links to the car via wifi. It allows the car to make a range of sounds in place of an exhaust. It can be set to sound like the original car, or emit a range of other noises, including a spaceship, galloping horses or tweeting birds.

Text from Crazy Project Car home page

Refining the body by high-skilled engineers and reproducing the streamlined-body more than the original, 2000GT Solar EV (2000GT SEV) is developed under the concept of a car going 200km/h speed for two people, moreover, it overturns the images of typical solar car.

Advanced bio-material, Alcanntara, makes the interior of 2000GT SEV feel a sense of luxury, And, the lacquer-painted panels is coating with gold and silver. In addition, keeping the sense of the original, we developed 7 unique new meters for EV, furthermore, new-developed inner mirror allows you to switch the inner mirror's to the image monitor.

Indeed, solar energy panels are equipped with the engine hood, which stored the energy in a lithium-ion batteries, the LSHV motor, and also the original pedaling sound system are supplied. So, it is a genuine future-car, which people could enjoy driving with achieving ultimate zero missions.