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I supported Toymods
Location:
Sydney
Registered:
May 2002
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Group B + Toyota
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Thu, 29 January 2004 07:07
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The Celica twin-cam turbo was Toyota's choice to enter the World Rally Championship when they decided to take a run at the title. The Celica's major handicap was its lack of four-wheel-drive, however, the car was well-built and fairly straightforward to maintain. The engine produced about 290 horsepower (which later grew to 370 as the evolution versions were released), and it had a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout.
Toyota's first rally in the Group B class was the 1983 1000 Lakes Rally in Finland, with the young but talented Juha Kankkunen behind the wheel. The Celica grabbed a fine sixth place in its first rally. Its second rally was even better. Toyota and desert rally expert Bjorn Waldegard teamed up to win the Ivory Coast rally in October, 1983, on the Celica's second outing. However, the 1983 RAC rally was an eye-opener for Toyota. The Celica simply didn't have the pace to keep up with the other teams on tight European stages.
The Celica was out of its depth on the twisty European roads, but it found its niche on the African continent. The Celica won no less than six rallies in Africa, including three consecutive Safari rallies in Kenya from 1984 to 1986. Toyota added three wins in Western Africa's Ivory Coast rally, making it the undisputed king of the desert during the Group B era. The Celica's ruggedness and simplicity (compared to other Group B cars) made it reliable and perfectly suited to the harsh desert conditions. The Celica changed drastically following Group B's cancellation for the 1987 season.
When Toyota realised that the Celica 4T-GTE wasn't very competitive outside of Africa, the team started work on a new contender - a 600 horsepower MR2. With the cancellation of Group B, the car was never entered in rally competition.
taken from - http://www.stormloader.com/groupb/toyota.html
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| | Subject | Poster | Date |
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Group B + Toyota
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SW20R | Thu, 29 January 2004 07:07 |
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Re: Group B + Toyota
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RobST162 | Thu, 29 January 2004 07:18 |
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Re: Group B + Toyota
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Shraka | Thu, 29 January 2004 08:13 |
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Re: Group B + Toyota
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M.J.H | Thu, 29 January 2004 11:40 |
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Re: Group B + Toyota
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Clown | Thu, 29 January 2004 15:20 |
