Finding a CC-worthy car at night is always a crapshoot. Nighttime photography by complete amateurs such as your favourite air-cooled author doesn’t usually make for great results, especially when the subject car is dark. On this one, though, I got kind of lucky. White cars aren’t my thing, but in December at 6pm, they’re a welcome sight and are susceptible to digital capture.
This was the swansong of the classic Celica. By classic, I mean RWD, of course. Classic in the mechanical sense. Shape-wise, as far as I’m concerned, the classic Celica is the first generation only. These cold and plastic-ridden origami designs, though they definitely stand out of the crowd in this day and age, are far less appealing to me.
Still, this little wedge is now entirely devoid of charm. The concealed headlights and that lowered greenhouse do work very well together. It’s like they took the Triumph TR7 and ironed out all the BL (or should that be “BS”?) out of it. And that includes the car’s internals, too. Unlike the Triumph, the Celica’s 4-cyl. had both reliability and potency in spades.
Our feature car has probably the most desirable engine ever put in a non-Supra RWD Celica. It’s a 1.8 litre DOHC twin spark version of the Toyota T engine. This one also has a hemi head, EFI and a water-cooled turbocharger to produce 160 hp. Transmission was a 5-speed manual, naturally. For the purpose of WRC homologation, there was a GT-TS version too. It had a 180 hp engine, but with only 200 made, those are near unicorn-level.
Is this the best version of this 3rd-generation Celicas one is likely to see on the street? Most likely. It’s certainly very much of its time, if nothing else. And I prefer this notchback rear end to the hatchback one, though that’s entirely down to one’s personal taste. This looks a bit like the “formal” roofline seen on far too many American designs of the ‘80s, but executed with far more flair (and less formality).
The main issue with nighttime shoots is that interior pics are just impossible. So we’ll have to do with an excerpt from the Celica’s JDM catalogue. I didn’t even bother trying to peek inside, so I can’t tell you what the upholstery might have looked like. That striped fabric on the bottom pic is quite an eyeful… I kinda like it!
But since this is the sporty version, I bet it had something less pyjama-like inside. Faux black leather and red pinstripes, probably. Entirely appropriate, to be sure, but less amusing. In fact, that’s pretty much how I feel about this Celica in general.
Which is why this post is quite a short one. For one thing, this generation Celicas has been featured on CC multiple times. Besides that, I just cannot find the enthusiasm I feel I should about this particular automobile, though I do recognize its significance and its relative rarity. Just not my thing. Which is a darn shame, as I did manage a few decent pics along the way. Sometimes, the stars just don’t line up perfectly. Celica, you’re breaking my heart.
Related posts:
Curbside Classic: 1985 Toyota Celica Supra MK II–The One I Should Have Bought, by PN
Alleyside Classic: 1983 Toyota Celica Supra – Terra Cotta Warrior Waiting To Be Discovered, by Jim Klein
CC Capsule: 1985 Toyota Celica Convertible by ASC – The Second Celica Convertible, by PN
COAL: 1982 Toyota Celica XX – A Supra By Any Other Nameby Michael Leckie
COAL: 1982 Toyota Celica- How It Felt To Be Cool For Once, by Danny F. Cabrera
CC Outtake: 1985 Toyota Celica Supra – Simply Superb, by Joseph Dennis
It’s sweet.
Cool find. I had a US spec ’85 Celica GTS. It had the redesigned 22RE engine (113hp), but still had quite a bit less HP than this JDM one. Bet the one featured here is a fun car. Mine was fun, but having owned some more overtly sporty cars like a NB Miata, the Celica engine was not happy to rev, the 5 speed trans was pretty long-throw and the power to weight ratio was pretty weak. It was a good commuter and a comfortable long distance cruiser, but not a sports car.
Amazing find, Tatra!
Now about that rear view…!?
Lovely. This may be the first time I’ve seen these particular wheels on a narrow body version of the Celica and the combination works very well. I also prefer the liftback but again here it works. It’s a lot like a final Fox-body Mustang – I much prefer the lift back in that as well EXCEPT for the existence of the LX 5.0 in which case I prefer the larger wheels with the plainer notchback body.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a notchback gen 3 Celica without one of those ’80s non-functional (no forward tie-down point) trunk racks. I actually had to look twice to notice it’s missing, I just mentally added one.
I’m not much of an origasmist either and was quite glad when that era folded, but I’ll give these Sillycars some wrinkle room.
They looked a bit severe in the day, more ma’am than mistress than a sports ought, yet have endured where so many from that nondescript era have vanished from any consciousness.
I too prefer the booted version, the hatch having just too much of the Corona virus, sorry, niceness, about it. More howdy-dowdy than how do YOU do.
Here, in a land where (I think) 2.4 rather grainy industrial low-rev litres were the height of its powers, I didn’t know it all got as hot as multi cams and turbos-with-watery-bits in the homeland. You have caught quite the unicorn.
Those conformist orgigasmists at Toyota did a bit of a volte face with the smoothy Panhard 24 copy in the next-gen T-160 Celica, in fact, a face so volte that they produced a better-looker than the source material. It is universally acknowledged amongst myself that that is the best looker of all Celica generations, a minor error in your article that I feel humbly obliged to insist you must correct without delay.
I’d never noted the Panhard 24 likeness to the T-160 prior to your note, and have to say it’s bang on. The switch from this generation to that new one was quite jarring, I remember very much liking both, but finding it difficult to acknowledge that both were Celicas, the only real styling feature making the jump was the blacked out front flip up lights, whereas the concurrent Nissan 240SX was a much more linear progression. To this day I can’t really prefer one Celica to the other (assuming both in as new condition and in top trim with all the gingerbread), there being much for me to like in either.
Indeed, I agree that my perspication is to be respected.
Reports that others in ’86 (or so) had noticed the same are undoubtedly fictional, despite their publication.
Some lesser types might suggest that that long-past direction of attention to a car I had never heard of, the PL 24, preempted my making of this connection here, but my ego insists, alas, that some are eternally jealous of original genius.
C’mon Justy, there’s really only one source for the styling of this car. Just look at the decklid contour. 🙂
But ofcourse. Silly me.
I am another who generally preferred the fastback, but is that because the only notchbacks I recall seeing were 4 cylinder automatic secretary specials back then? These wheels and the potent powertrain make me open my eyes to the nice lines on this body. I love the subtle upward slant at either edge of the rear deck.
And yes – nighttime car photography is hard.
I accept it’s not everyone’s favourite but actually I like it, even in white which works in the light in these shots, and is aging well as a style, IMHO.
And thank you Hannes R for spotting what that rear end was reminding me of!
In the early 90’s when I was stationed at Yokosuska, these were popular (and relatively expensive) with my fellow Sailors. These and various 2D R30 Skylines (I had a 1978 C211 2-spark plug 4-cylinder 4-door I bought for $75, so I didn’t care).
Quite a find those older Celicas are getting rare here, Toyotas RWD era was over for its mainstream sedans which provided the powertrains for the sporty model so it was inevitable the Sillycar would go FWD, I still think the first gen was the best looker though.
Pictures three and five have the C pillar and rear window looking an awful lot like a GM fwd X body coupe, particularly the Skylark.
It’s in beautiful shape and I far preferred the clean, angular unfussy lines of this car to the overdecorated first generation or the blobby, melted car that came along in 1990ish.
There’s a white one like this that’s been sitting immobile in a driveway in my neighborhood for years. Organic compounds are growing on its side. But I enjoy seeing it regularly.
But I’ll take its predecessor any day. That was peak Celica for me.
With the exception of the steering wheel on the wrong side (and the GT-S wheels), this car is a dead ringer for the car my ex and I had back in like 1990. I loved that little car. It was so much fun to drive.
Her ’84 had the 2.2L engine if memory serves, and the only problem we ever had with it was soon after we bought it (used in like 1989 or so) was with the timing chain that, according to my mechanic at the time, was nothing more than a glorified bicycle chain. It was rattling around and could go at any minute. The car had almost 60K on the clock at the time, and the dealer reluctantly went in half with me to fix it when I complained about it.
The white paint was easy to keep clean and shiny, and the car looked great until someone made a left turn in front of my wife promptly totaling it. We got her an ’88 Turbo Coupe shortly after that.
Although you don’t have any interior shots there T-87, peering through the front window in your second picture, it would appear that this car has the same exact interior that ours had. Those seats were very durable. They still looks new on ours.
I don’t recall these having a turbo 1.8L. This must’ve been a JDM thing.
Like most, I preferred the look of the hatchback at the time, but this one really grew on my in the short time that we had it. Like a little LX Fox Body Mustang wannabe.
Very nice find. These, along with the equivalent Corona and Carina models, were the first DOHC turbocharged motors to come from Japan upon their debut in October 1982. And that 3T-GTE is a massively overbuilt motor; these formed the basis of Toyota’s Group B rallying effort, and those in the know reported “in excess” of 400 hp for the rally-prepped TTE works cars. Another plus the GT-T / GT-TR (those were the next ring up the model ladder from this car) received was the independent rear suspension from the XX/Supra line, like the US market GT-S. No Japanese Celicas of this generation came in that car’s “widebody” form, however. The shape is actually one of my favorite from 1980’s Toyota, where the details aren’t overdone and has an overall under-the-radar look. The only downside I can say is that the introduction of the turbo into the Celica line killed off the 2.0 DOHC 18R-GEU models, and were replaced with 1.6 DOCH 16V 4A-GEU powered models. Sparkling in a Corolla, the early 4A was a wee bit low on power for the heftier Celicas.
The 80’s Celica GTS and the likewise vintage Supra are the only Toyota’s I ever really liked. Still look modern and desirable.
I usually found notchback Celicas to look a little… strange. That’s probably because the hatchback models were always vastly more popular here in Australia and Toyota finally gave up on offering the notch by the time the sixth-gen rolled around (although that would be the last generation of the notch anyway).
I make two exceptions to that rule, however. The first-generation was vastly better looking as a notchback. And this generation, while I love the hatchback, I also love the notchback.
Something about those angled taillights and severe lines that makes it look so damn aggressive. Call me crazy, but I would’ve loved to also see a Supra version of the Celica notchback. I always found the second-generation Supra to look surprisingly brutish.
The following Celica generation looked completely different but I love it, too. Wow, I’d forgotten how many ’80s Toyotas I could really get behind.
Huh. Wonder what my ’74 Celica GT would have looked like as a fastback ? Hasn’t occurred to me to think of it . . . as we never saw them here in the continental US. This is literally my first sighting !
https://www.carsaddiction.com/files/cars/74__Celica_GT.jpg
The Eternal Newbie
Simply one of the best car designs ever.
It has taken a while, but this generation of Celica notchback has started to grow on me. As you pointed out, Tatra87, the hard, almost-vertical angle of the rear window is hard to swallow. Another detail I don’t care for is the way the trunk slopes downward from its outer edges. Combined with the downward-canted taillights, the rear looks angry.
The Celica *hatchback* of the same generation, however, is one of my favorite Japanese designs of the ’80s.
I had test-driven one of these when it was about 9 years old, from family friends who were going to sell it to me. I believe it was an ’84 (in the summer of ’93). I really had wanted something newer, but I’ve got to say – this Celica ST notchback (also white in color) was responsive, sporty, and fun to drive.
I was stubborn, though, and really wanted something American-branded. I had a thing for Fox Mustangs back then, and got my ’88 that summer. It was dynamically inferior to the ’84 Celica in almost every way. I still loved that Mustang, but driving that Celica was an eye-opener.
(The previous-generation Celica notchback had just the right amount of lines and curves. Those are probably my favorites.)
I was not a fan of this generation of Celica as I’m not generally fond of origami styling and I found this model to be a prime example of Toyota’s cynicism on its release. 3 different engines with varying degrees of awfulness and pedestrian dynamics, which was grating when one was aware that other markets received specifications with more camshafts, valves and suspension joints.
Although the first and fourth generation Celicas will always be in my mind the best looking, in the context of some truly fugly Toyotas of more recent years, this design has grown on me.
The later alloy rims on the pictured car and the flared guards as per the Supra and the US spec GTS do improve things.
I’d still much rather have this Celia’s close cousin, the Corona GT-TR.