1989 Toyota 4500GT

One of the greatest technical tours of force of all time was the verdict on the 4500GT show car of 1989. Its Lexus-based V-eight engine had five valves per cylinder, the gearbox had six speeds, the suspension was variable and the run-flat tires had pressure sensors on board.

Novelties included LCD shutters for the vertically stacked headlamps and sun visor, ultra-sound wing mirrors to clear water droplets and a Noise Canceller, which emitted signals of opposite phase and amplitude to eliminate noise "booms". Although the 4500GT may not have looked very pretty, all five that Toyota built were fully sorted road- going machines.

The Toyota 4500GT concept debuted at the 1989 Frankfurt Auto show. It was a 2 door, 2+2 Coupe that signalled Toyota’s entry into the competitive upper-level luxury coupe class. Although the car’s controversial styling was almost universally disliked by the show-goers at the Frankfurt show, its mechanical components were far more relevant, as they carried over much more closely to its production offspring than the styling did.