Looking a little like a scaled-down Toyota 2000GT, the Sports 800 (UP15) was a development of the original Publica 700.

Introduced in 1961, the latter was Toyota's response to the Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry's concept of a 'national car'.

MITI's brief specified weight below 400kg (880lb), a maximum speed of over 100km/h (62mph), fuel consumption of 85mpg at a steady 60km/h (37mph), and exceptional reliability: no breakdowns or repairs for at least 100,000km (62,000 miles).

Toyota's design team had been inspired by the Citroën 2CV, and although they adopted a 2CV-like 697cc front-mounted air-cooled boxer engine, opted for conventional rear-wheel drive transmission rather than the French car's front-drive layout.

Engine capacity was later raised to 800cc while maximum power increased from 28 to 45PS, which was good enough to propel the streamlined little Sports 800 to a top speed of around 100mph.

A total of 3,131 had been produced by the time production ce...