Photo: Toyota
Although new generations may now consider Toyota a toaster maker, the manufacturer actually did a lot for the auto industry and also had a glorious past in motorsport, especially in the World Rally Championship (WRC).
Speaking about the WRC, the most iconic Toyota vehicle in motorsport has to be the Celica GT-Four, which is responsible for winning a total of 30 rally series along time. The last one in the pack is the ST205 model, which recently celebrated its 20th anniversary with the help of its fans.
Around 50 Celica models gathered at the Prescott Speed Hill in Gloucestershire with the occasion, also taking opportunity to demonstrate the model’s abilities on the challenging course.
Brought by members of the GT-Four Owners Club, several versions of the ST205, based on the sixth-generation Celica, were accompanied by the much older ST165 and ST185 GT-Four models.
All GT-Four street models had to be produced by Toyota in a certain number to be able to compete in the WRC. Which means that you won’t find one too easy now.
We admit the first two generations looked a bit weird, but the ST205 version is spot on - sleek body, vented hood, wing at the back and a modified 2-liter four-cylinder engine making 242 hp which is linked to a permanent four-wheel drive system. Zero to 62 mph (100 km/h) takes 6.1 seconds and the speedo needle can keep going up to 153 mph (246 km).
Of course, the rally version was more powerful than that but that’s another story. And speaking of rally incarnations, Toyota is also known to currently work at a new rally Yaris, which might restart its WRC career in a couple of years.
Around 50 Celica models gathered at the Prescott Speed Hill in Gloucestershire with the occasion, also taking opportunity to demonstrate the model’s abilities on the challenging course.
Brought by members of the GT-Four Owners Club, several versions of the ST205, based on the sixth-generation Celica, were accompanied by the much older ST165 and ST185 GT-Four models.
All GT-Four street models had to be produced by Toyota in a certain number to be able to compete in the WRC. Which means that you won’t find one too easy now.
We admit the first two generations looked a bit weird, but the ST205 version is spot on - sleek body, vented hood, wing at the back and a modified 2-liter four-cylinder engine making 242 hp which is linked to a permanent four-wheel drive system. Zero to 62 mph (100 km/h) takes 6.1 seconds and the speedo needle can keep going up to 153 mph (246 km).
Of course, the rally version was more powerful than that but that’s another story. And speaking of rally incarnations, Toyota is also known to currently work at a new rally Yaris, which might restart its WRC career in a couple of years.
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