1965 Toyota SPORTS 800

Since time immemorial, sports cars have been manufactured on sedan underpinnings and mechanicals. And why not? It’s relatively inexpensive to do, and you’ll assemble a fun image-builder that will get everyone talking. The first Corvette was built on a cut-down Bel Air frame; the Triumph Herald begat the Spitfire and GT6; the Volkswagen Rabbit shared its guts with the Scirocco in the 1970s.

And so it was in Japan, where Toyota’s Sports 800 was