lucky number 7
For today’s Nostalgic Wednesday, we focus on the 1970 Toyota 7. This car may be familiar to some because of its appearance in the GranTurismo game series. Before the 1970 model of the 7 race car, Toyota had developed and produced earlier models of the 7 that competed in the Can-Am. In 1968, Nissan took the spot but equipped their racer with a 5.6 liter V8 Chevrolet Engine (wth?! Nissan), it took 1st and the Toyota 7 finished 7 and 8 respectively.
Unsuccessful with the earlier versions of the Toyota 7 in reaching podium positions, Toyota engineers had to develop something superior to its competitors so it could beat its main rival Nissan and its foreign competitors on their own turf.
Hey Johnny 5
Because Can-Am had less restrictions, the 7 had undergone a lot of drastic changes not only mechanically (2 turbo chargers on an aluminum V8 by Toyota) but also cosmetically to provide better aero and less drag.
It’s modifications paid off which landed the team taking the 4th ,5th 6th position in the November 23rd Can-Am race of 1968. With enthusiasm, the final design of the Toyota 7 underwent multiple developments and was equipped with a Turbo charged V8. Toyota’s aim had then reached even higher to reach the podium.
Twin turbos on the track
In October 1970, Toyota entered the newly equipped 7s in the Japanese GP Series and ended with a 3rd place position. The the big one came, in November of the same year, Toyota finally had its 1st place in the Japanese Can-Am.
Toyota had built the ultimate weapon to conquer the track, but unfortunately the Toyota 7 project had to be shut down after taking the lives of their 2 team drivers during test runs. In addition, 1970 brought new environmental regulations that were imposed around the world and automakers had to devote their efforts and commit substantial resources in the research for cleaner engines.
Nissan followed, decided to quit racing and this led to the Grand Prix of Japan 1970 being canceled, thereby marking the death of these spectacular cars racing in Japan. Today, there are only 3 Toyota 7s of the same model around the world. Two are in their homeland inside the Toyota Auto Museum, and the other is in Holland, strangel
-mark-
mark@maydaygarage.com