Introduced in 1981, the A60-generation Celica was discontinued in 1985. A revered member of this generation is the RA63, which designates A60 Celicas fitted with a 2.0-liter engine that’s referred to as 18R-G.
Upgraded from a live rear axle to semi-trailing arms in 1983, the boxy-looking coupe was further upgraded from rise-up headlights to pop-up headlights. The rear-driven A60 came with engines ranging from 1.6 liters to 2.4 liters, manual and automatic transmissions, as well as three body styles: two-door notchback, three-door liftback, and two-door convertible.
Chassis number JT1CBTA6006000151 is a two-door notchback that was heavily modified for the World Rally Championship by Toyota Team Europe in Germany. Better known as TC3, the Celica 2000 GT in the photo gallery is the first Celica to win a WRC event. Bjorn Waldegard and Hans Thorszelious finished the 1982 Motogard Rally of New Zealand ahead of more powerful rivals, including turbo monsters such as the Datsun Bluebird Turbo, Mitsubishi Lancer EX Turbo, as well as the mighty Audi Quattro.
Bjorn and Hans finished the rally in 10:28:08, three minutes ahead of the second-placed Celica 2000 GT and five minutes ahead of the third-placed Opel Ascona 400. Locked away in a garage for nearly two decades, TC3 was purchased by the current owner in 2009. He wasn’t aware of the vehicle’s significance at first, but soon enough, everything fell into place.
“I contacted TTE in Germany about my car and left them the chassis number. The next morning, I had a call from a nice chap called John Day to discuss it, and he was quite surprised to hear of the car because it had been off the radar for so long. He told me TC2 and TC3 had done the NZ rally and Bjorn had driven TC3. He also told me that SS at the start of the engine number stood for Super Swede who was the Swedish engine builder.”
A certificate of origin from Toyota confirms this example of the breed to be the long-lost TC3. “It wasn't until a while later that I noticed TC3 stamped on various parts including a welded in part of the shell,” the owner told Silverstone Auctions, which estimates the car at anything between £140,000 and £175,000. Converted to U.S. dollars, make that $171,340 and $214,175.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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