AutoCult Yamaha A550X (RHD) (1964) (Japan)

About the Original:

Contradictory Information from Far East

In 1964 Nissan planned to realize a sports car, which was eventually produced in series under the designation 2000GT.

During the stage of development the sports car bore the internal designation A550X. The specifications were clear from the beginning on. The car was supposed to feature a monocoque chassis, four disk breaks, pop-up headlamps and a hatchback. Nissan was looking for a suitable engine for its future sports car and here came Yamaha, which was just developing a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine with 120 hp, into play. In the course of this stroke of luck Yamaha saw the opportunity to prove that they were capable of setting a running prototype on its wheels in a short space of time. In the very same year (1964) the engineers of Yamaha finished a running car that featured all the required specifications of Nissan. But in the course of the year more and more disagreements arose and the cooperation was ended in the end of 1964. The willingness of Yamaha to gain access to the market of automobiles was still strong. Although the project A550X came to nothing, the management of Yamaha was still confident of its capabilities to develop a whole car from the concept stage to series production readiness.

In search of another cooperation, Yamaha quickly agreed with Toyota. As early as 1965 the agreement of both companies was ready for signoff. Once again Yamaha set a car on its wheels – the prototype of the later on series produced Toyota 2000GT!