RE: Starlet fever | Time for Tea

RE: Starlet fever | Time for Tea

Friday 19th July 2019

Starlet fever | Time for Tea?

Seen the one with the 11,000rpm, 260hp, 700kg Toyota Starlet? Get yourself comfortable...



The unerring dedication and commitment of Euro hillclimbers remains incredible to watch. It’s never going to be the most glamourous or high profile of motorsports, yet that doesn’t stop thousands of hours (and goodness knows how much cash) being poured into projects specifically built to scamper up mountains.

Mikko Kataja’s is a perfect example of the breed, the Finn’s history with this little Starlet stretching all the way back to 2000. Once a Group F rally car, it has now evolved – with help from VHTRacing – into the 11,000rpm screamer you see here. The 4A-GE engine and sequential gearbox combo were actually dropped in for the 100th running of Pikes Peak in 2016, with work since then finessing the package and getting the very best from it.

As you can see, from this Wolsfeld Hillclimb video, the old Starlet is working just perfectly. It absolutely shrieks through its rev range, darts through direction changes just as you’d hope for such a light car and uses its rear-wheel drive to shoot away from the endless hairpin bends. It looks hard work, no doubt, but also immensely rewarding to drive.

So much so, in fact, that it only seemed right to share as widely as possible this incredible little car. By bringing together one rather boring Toyota with the (heavily modified) engine from another, much more interesting Toyota, Mikko Kataja has created a truly spectacular Starlet. He can certainly drive it, too, as you’ll see. Watch the video below!

Author
Discussion

ZX10R NIN

Original Poster:

29,167 posts

140 months

Friday 19th July 2019
quotequote all
Oh lordy

Mr Tidy

26,769 posts

142 months

Friday 19th July 2019
quotequote all
Fantastic! :thubmup:

Back in the 90s a mate of mine used to race a Starlet on the ovals with a 1600 Ford Cross-Flow running twin Webers and I thought that was pretty impressive - this one takes Starlet madness to another level! laugh

Water Fairy

6,129 posts

170 months

Friday 19th July 2019
quotequote all
That is sweet!

blearyeyedboy

6,649 posts

194 months

Saturday 20th July 2019
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What a gem!

Cylon2007

574 posts

93 months

Saturday 20th July 2019
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Fantastic, love it

Venisonpie

4,056 posts

97 months

Saturday 20th July 2019
quotequote all
Magic.

soad

33,905 posts

191 months

Monday 22nd July 2019
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Sounds good too. driving

can't remember

1,099 posts

143 months

Monday 22nd July 2019
quotequote all
That's just fantastic.

anonymous-user

69 months

Monday 22nd July 2019
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What an awesome car.

aka_kerrly

12,492 posts

225 months

Monday 22nd July 2019
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To describe the Starlet as boring is rather harsh as they are great fun even with 60hp 1.3lumps.

Bobtherallyfan

1,417 posts

93 months

Monday 22nd July 2019
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The 4A-GE engine has got to be one of the all time great designs

sparkyhx

4,200 posts

219 months

Wednesday 24th July 2019
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love it, Love the way there is absolutely no 'lag' after the gear changes