The Toyota Celica Was a Rally Monster

If you remember the Toyota Celica as the sports car that eventually went extinct, you might not remember the history and story of this car.

While there are still some versions of the Celica that make it to the roads today, some that have been properly cared for, this car is one that is mostly gone from the market and from our driving experience. Even though you can’t find many of these Toyota cars for sale, the story of the Celica is one that we want to tell and certainly interesting, especially when you consider this car was a rally monster in its day.

Taking on the Rally World

The late 1970s is where we take this story, and the various rally tracks that dotted the racing landscape of Europe and Africa are where many of the small cars went to compete. Every automaker wanted to dominate their chosen racing league, but most didn’t reach the level of success that Ferrari found on the track or Lancia on the rally circuit. Even so, many automakers had cars entered in races to try and take down the dominant brands of the time.

Toyota had 49 different Celica versions in rally races in the latter part of the 1970s. This continued into the 1980s, and in 1982, Toyota took the Group B championship in a Celica. This was the first major win for the car and gave Toyota the notoriety that would go along with being a rally champion.

The racing version of the Toyota Celica that won this championship used turbocharged engines and gave the drivers 320 horsepower, making incredible times around the dirt-covered tracks of the rally circuit.

Taking Things to Another Level

Even though the Celica won in 1982, the fact that this car wasn’t equipped with AWD made for a car that wasn’t as competitive as Toyota would like it to be. Because of this, the fourth generation of the Celica was made and it pulled out all the stops.

In 1985 the Toyota Celica GT4 was brought to the market and to the rally tracks around the world. This car was called the GT-Four, All-Trac, and GT4, just in case you run across this car called different things. All of these names were used for the same car, and it was made to rip and roar on the tight tracks of the rally class.

The Celica GT4 brought a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine that could produce 190 horsepower and use full-time AWD with a center-locking differential. This was an amazing car to drive and one that should have won another championship for the brand, but it wouldn’t be until the fifth-generation model arrived that Toyota would hit this racing circuit in a big way.

Why was the Toyota Celica GT4 Famous?

In the racing world, the Celica GT4 found fame and success, while not as successful as the next model, because this was the first Japanese car used to win the WRC driver’s title. In 1990, driver Carlos Sainz was the first person to achieve this feat. To honor this accomplishment, Toyota created a special model of this car which was called the Celica GT4 Carlos Sainz edition or GT4 RC in Japan.

This special model became the first of the fifth-generation versions with a 2.0-liter twin-turbocharged four-cylinder engine that made 225 horsepower. This special model added a better water-to-air intercooler, extra air ducts in the hood and front bumper, and a short-throw shifter. The racing version of this car would win the WRC manufacturer’s title in 1993 and 1994, which was another first for a Japanese automaker.

The Next Generation Gained More Fame

When it was time for the sixth generation of the Toyota Celica to arrive, the ST205 GT4 model was finally offered in the US. Previous versions of the All-Trac were offered, but this particular model never was. With this new car being offered and a tuned-up powertrain that produced 252 horsepower and 225 lb.-ft. of torque, this car was the one that most of us have admired and loved for the past couple of decades.

Right off the assembly line, these new models of the Celica had water injection to cool incoming air for more boost. This was similar to the Carlos Sainz models of the previous generation. The ST205 GT also offered a front suspension that was sporty and would give us the active equipment that wouldn’t find its way into another car of this ilk until the Ford Focus RS arrived two decades later.

The most incredible part of this model of the Toyota Celica GT4 was the routing of air to create an anti-lag system to keep drivers from having to deal with the hated turbo lag. The exhaust gases were used to keep the turbos spooled up, which kept consistent power going for this car.

Another Celica Made the Rally Circuit

While the GT4 was the most famous of the Celica rally cars on the track, another car was entered in European races, and for a good reason. The front-engine, rear-drive models were dominant on the African Group B tracks in the 1980s, but the European tracks offered a different challenge. Thus the Black Monster was born and based on the Celica MR2. The project was codenamed 222D and made for Group S and Group B racing.

Unfortunately, this project was never completed. Group B was canceled in 1986, as did Group S, and that caused this project to suffer the same fate and become nothing more than a museum piece.

Looking for a Fun Car, Look to the Celica

While every model of the Toyota Celica that was produced would be more than twenty years old right now, production ended in 1999; there are still some versions of this car that can be a lot of fun for you to drive. If you’re looking for a car with ties to some serious racing heritage that was the first to accomplish some feats on the rally tracks; the Celica is a great car for you to drive.