<
<
<
This is my page dedicated to my Toyota Celicas that I have owned over the years.
The Celica was an extraordinary car. While extremely under powered in most cases, the Celica was a car that had a long legacy spanning over 30 years. It lead the car industry in ingenuity and style for many years until its demise and re branding as the Scion TC in the early 2000s.
The Celica began its roots from the early Toyota 2000GT in 1970. The first generation Celica also known as the A20 (TA22, RA20, and RA21). This early RWD coupe was a legend in its own time facing off against much more powerful muscle cars of its era. The Celica stood firm and changed its design in 1977 to the more simplistic A40/50 series for its second generation. I actually learned how to drive on one of these it was a gutless 3 speed, but I admired the nostalgia of such a legendary car as I learned more about them. In 1981 the Celica did a complete make over to include the signature black stripe grill and pop up headlights. This third generation remained true to its RWD roots until its remodeling in 1986.
The 4th generation celica marked a new era for this car as it changed to a FWD model and in 1988 Toyota produced the Alltrac/GT4 (ST165) model with a whopping 190hp and 5 speed AWD. This car would be the entry of the Japanese cars into the rally circuit as a respectable brand. he ST165 GT-Four made its World Rally debut in the 1988 Tour de Corse and finished 6th. The first victory came in 1988 Cyprus (non-WRC), and the first WRC victory in 1989 Rally Australia. In 1990 toyota released what is in my opinion the most beautiful of all the cars it produced (well next to the 2000GT) the ST185. This model was marked with the famous black grill, pop up headlights and a curved body not seen in the car industry in years. The 5th generation Celica was produced with a 1.6l, 2.2, 2.0l and 2.0l Turbo. The Turbo model had a couple of different models the GT4/Alltrac and the GT4 Carlos Sainz/RC/GroupA edition which was made in honor of the legendary driver who helped bring Toyota rally racing to the worlds stage. In 1994 the sixth generation was unveiled and also featured a AWD Turbo model (ST205/WRC) which was the last generation of Celica produced in this lay out. The 6th generation Celica shrugged off its pop up headlights in exchange for a new styled dual circular ones.
The last chapter in the celica's history was the ZZT230 seventh generation which debuted in 2000. I remember the early the marketing ads of this car which featured it racing jets, an old man yelling at a parked car to "slow down" because the car looks fast. Well having owned a 7th generation GTS 180hp 6 speed, I would say that is about all it did was look fast and get good fuel economy. It was a stylish revision with angles reminiscent of a stealth fighter or something. It was not what the car industry was looking for at the time and after a few years Toyota announced that it would discontinue the Celica line after over 30 years.
