A look back at the ultimate Toyota Celica that we never really got

Few cars continue to earn the respect of so many like the Toyota Celica. It is a real Japanese sports car icon; It is very reliable compared to many others in its class, and it is driven to champion-like status in everything, from the Safari Rally in 1985 and the Formula Drift Championships to the Super GT series in the 1990s and early 2000s.

There are not many Affordable Japanese classics Built like the Celica, and that’s why we love it. But apparently, despite what the Celica is good for, it was not enough for some at Toyota. With a little help from a few big names in the industry, one One -time Toyota Celica Supercar Was built and it is as impressive as you would expect it is.

Take a Toyota Celica-Body, add a huge horsepower and four-wheel drive

Although the Celica must be one of the largest Japanese sports cars ever, it usually does not deserve the name of a supercar. Long known for its performance balance and reliability (with Repair pal, which gives it a reliability score of 4 out of 5), The Celica is almost in its own competition when it comes to fun and daily usability.

Although for all its qualities, horsepower could always have done a bit of a boost, with the most powerful Celica built in the factory (the GT-Four ST205 of 1994 for the Japanese market) that is 255 hp at the top. This all changed in 2000 when Toyota USA, Rod Millen Motorsports and Toyota Racing Development got a 2000 Celica and gave the world a one -off “Ultimate Celica” Concept Supercar With an inline four and four-wheel drive of 500 hp.

A 500 hp Celica made for the track

Although it can be seen as a bit of a show pony, the iconic Celica underwent some transformation in its transition to a supercar. In the middle of all this is a limiting inline four and the removal of the FWD system in favor of a configuration of four-wheel drive.

Derived from the turbocharged 4T-GTE inline-four found in ISMA race cars and Rod Millen’s Pikes Peak Hill Climb machines, the engine under the hood of the “Ultimate Celica” is a monster and boasts a custom electronic-wastegate-controlled Garrett T04 ball-bearing turbocharger set at 22 psi, an exhaust system That boasts custom headers produced using inconsel and stainless steel, and a high rpm output of 8,000 rpm. It is certainly one step further from the 2000 Celica’s Mill, which can drip 180 hp in its most powerful form (under the hood of the GT-S).

The Isma-Roots Turbo-Inline-Vier under the hood

Known for its high-replacement nature, the 4T-GET can be seen as the perfect fit for the Celica Supercar concept. It can offer a very robust feeling; It is good for adjustment and it is as reliable as you would like in a Celica.

To improve it, apart from the adapted turbo and exhaust, the bore and stroke were raised from 85 mm x 78 mm to a square bore and a stroke of 85.9 mm, giving it 2.0-liter displacement.

Connection bars were strengthened; Mahle forged pistons were added; The crankshaft was upgraded; And the lubrication and cooling systems all received an upgrade. All in all, the 4T-GET was converted to be able to take the higher speed that it can now offer, a higher boost of the turbo and a higher power.

Supercar setup and a Rod Millen AWD -Conversion

The ultimate Celica was not a hair -born schedule cooked by a garage modder and his friends, but it came from the Toyota top. Toyota USA-Execs Jim Press, Yale Gieszli and Bryan Bergsteinsson all wanted to make a 500 hp Celica to show Toyota fans that the 7th-gen Celica’s Motorsport heritage was not overlooked.

This is when they sat down with Rod Millen, who had ‘only success’ in the rally world, with five Pikes Peak International Hill Climb victories to name just a few, to create the ultimate Celica -Supercar. Apart from the engine adjustment, the Supercar formula of this beast comes from all the other mods they threw on it.

Track-bred upgrades that distinguish these AWD Celica Supercar

This includes the ultimate Celica almost unrecognizable from the standard 2000 model on which it is based. The team added Bilstein coil struts with tailor-made shocks and progressive speed springs, which give it a completely new edge of balance; The chassis was stiffened with a fully welded roll cage (made by Rod Millen Motorsports), so not only is it safer on the track, but the handling is tightened; And oversized ventilated brake rotors and fourz piston calipers combined with a racing-grade main cylinder and braided steel line have been added to offer a huge power power.

The most important thing is that the Celica based on the experience of Rod Millen and to process the new output power, the Celica was converted into four -wheel drive. The capacity of the 2.0-liter turbo vein factory is sent via an armed manual TRD box with five gears and then via a differs with a limited slip to all four wheels. The front and rear differences were also upgraded to Torsen-style diffs, which means that the entire bottom is much more ready on the track, but still road-legal configuration that can handle much more aggressive turns and sudden, aggressive retreats.

The Sap-up Calty Barrosserie shouting the performance

To finish the build of the ultimate Celica is a new bodywork. It not only looks a tons more aggressively than the 2000 Toyota Celica on which the entire Build was based, but everything that has been added is functional and meant to give it a real supercar -like performance.

The interior is effectively the same as that of the production model, apart from the addition of Recaro Sport seats and a four-point harness, but the differences are very clear on the outside.

Carbuzz

Calty, Toyota’s California Design House, created a Widebody kit (with a 3.8-inch wider front and 3.2-inch wider back) with wide flared mudguards around 19-inch magnesium bbs race wheels in houses with more rug-offs; The front bumper has been adjusted to include a functional front splitter that sends air flow to the brakes and radiator, while new sculpted side skirts help to minimize turbulence underneath.

The back was not only left and received a large wing mounted on the subframe to generate more downforce with the speeds that the celica can do now, while a rear diffuser also helps to reduce the elevator when it is hurled around a track. The bonnet is also ventilated to help expand heat from the powerful mill that is now under the hood, so all in all, everything that Toyota and their employees added makes it a true Japanese track weapon.

Only one ever built and it is not for sale

Toyota

Although the ultimate AWD Celica shows what Toyota is really capable of terms of Supercar building, it was never intended for public consumption, which somewhat IRCK, because we know that they can produce a number of clearly immense models based on their factory settings on the way to the road. We think they should have rolled this out, even as a model with a limited edition, but this beast remained like a one-off Supercar concept.

Today we see the Command 2000 Toyota Celica alone Average auction prices of $ 12,091So for what they offer in terms of rows, pleasure and reliability, they are still very valuable classic Japanese sports cars. Unfortunately, if you want to be the proud owner of this 2000-model-based Celica Supercar, you have to build one yourself. It will probably never be sold.

The ultimate Celica AWD Supercar was eventually housed in the Toyota USA Auto Museum in California, but after the exhibition was closed, it was not regularly seen. We can only assume that it is still the property of Toyota USA. Unfortunately, the ultimate Celica was also not used as a test bed, which could have given the latest Gen Celica a much needed kick in the sportier direction with a few AWD editions, but we have at least for at least for decades the Celica to look back and enjoy.

Toyota’s other forgotten cars

Although this is perhaps the ultimate Toyota Celica, which is overlooked and largely forgotten, it certainly proves that we could have got more of the last gene celica. But it is by far the only forgotten Toyota sport car that should get a little more recognition. We have the Limelight-WHOG models that every JDM fan has heard of, such as The notorious Toyota 2000GT, But the Japanese brand has turned out to be a good part of the forgotten fantastic models.