Toyota's Celica was Japan's answer to the Ford Mustang
Ford had shown that a stylish coupé body on ordinary sedan mechanicals could sell by the boatload. In 1970 Toyota tried the same recipe for American buyers, and the Celica, named after a Latin word for heavenly, went on to span seven generations over 36 years.
The Celica appeared at the Tokyo Motor Show in October 1970 alongside the Carina sedan whose platform it shared, and went on sale that December. It was a pillarless two-door hardtop with curvy coke-bottle styling, built to emphasise looks and driving fun rather than practicality. In Japan, where different dealer chains sell different models, it was sold only through Toyota Corolla Store outlets, filling the slot left by the little Sports 800 of 1965 to 1969.
Trim levels ran from the basic ET with a 1.4-litre engine to the GT with a 1.6-litre twin-cam, joined in 1972 by a lighter GTV with firmer suspension. A concept hatchback shown in 1971 led to the Celica Liftback in April 1973, and Toyota coined the word liftback to describe it. Japanese versions kept engines under 2.0 litres so buyers avoided a higher tax bracket.
American Celicas were tuned differently. The first, the 1971 ST, used a 1.9-litre engine with 108 horsepower. Later models grew to 2.0 and then 2.2 litres yet made slightly less power, 97 and then 96 horsepower. From 1975 they wore sturdier chrome and rubber bumpers to meet federal rules requiring cars to survive 5 mph impacts without minor damage.
Over time the car changed underneath. In August 1985 it switched from rear-wheel to front-wheel drive, and turbocharged all-wheel-drive versions were built from October 1986 to June 1999. Variable valve timing arrived in some Japanese models in December 1997 and became standard for the 2000 model year. Production ended in 2006.
Source: Toyota Celica
