RE: Toyota Celica GT-Four ST205 | Spotted

[coldel]

My red at Ace before I sold it.



Yes they are pretty quick when you release the airflow a bit, drop in filter, decat and exhaust and mine was at 290bhp without any boost controller/gizmos added on.

I replaced the discs and pads with EBC stuff for £320 all in with a deal at brake depot, so pretty good prices for replacing stuff like that.

I know non-owners will point at Supra's and laugh at Celica's but they are well worth having a drive in, nice usable power, reasonably practical and depending on your preference pretty good lookin!

[Beno66]

Bought this UK GT4 WRC back in July 2015.

The car had been featured in PH Carpool in February 2013.

The car was already in very good condition and I have made it even better.

Great cars to drive, very well constructed and still cheap in comparison to other group A rally cars of this era.

[loudlashadjuster]

Superbly engineered cars, just felt a bit slow and leaden next to an Evo, or even an Impreza.

[coldel]

They are creeping up in value though - bought mine for £4800 in 2015 sold for £9000 this year. I did some minor work on it such as changing head unit, speakers, some engine bay dress and the big shell out was changing the front bumper and respraying it but otherwise sold it as I bought it.

[Monkey boy 1]

if you type in Toyota Celica GT4 on 'How many left' you find in excess of 400 on the road for 2018 plus the 30 if you enter GT Four,
Lots of owners on CCUK

[cerb4.5lee]

loudlashadjuster said:

Superbly engineered cars, just felt a bit slow and leaden next to an Evo, or even an Impreza.

This is how I felt to be fair, a few of my mates had Evo's/Impreza's that I was lucky enough to drive and I also had a 200sx running 250bhp. Even after the 200 this just didn't feel that quick to me.

I still love them loads though for sure and its tuning potential can easily change how they feel as standard anyway.

[loudlashadjuster]

cerb4.5lee said:

This is how I felt to be fair, a few of my mates had Evo's/Impreza's that I was lucky enough to drive and I also had a 200sx running 250bhp. Even after the 200 this just didn't feel that quick to me.

I still love them loads though for sure and its tuning potential can easily change how they feel as standard anyway.

I did a manic 150 miles in a friend's ST205 once (forgotten passport, don't ask...) and with an aftermarket ECU and attendant boost tweak but still standard turbo it felt about as quick as the almost standard Evo 1 I had at the time.

[Walter Sobchak]

I always wanted one of these years ago, still really like them now but this one is just too expensive.

[ecksjay]

Owned one of these in white with all the TRD trimmings. Back in the day alongside a Nissan 200SX S14A. The Nissan wiped the floor with it in every way - the GT4 just didn't feel all that quick, was laggy in comparison and I just didn't get on with it at all. I think I swapped it for a Starlet Glanza-V and then sold it for.... £4.5k maybe? Seems silly now given the prices being thrown around for 90's jap cars but time has moved on. Definitely don't regret selling it, unlike the nissan that I would happily buy back in a flash.

[cerb4.5lee]

ecksjay said:

Owned one of these in white with all the TRD trimmings. Back in the day alongside a Nissan 200SX S14A. The Nissan wiped the floor with it in every way - the GT4 just didn't feel all that quick, was laggy in comparison and I just didn't get on with it at all. I think I swapped it for a Starlet Glanza-V and then sold it for.... £4.5k maybe? Seems silly now given the prices being thrown around for 90's jap cars but time has moved on. Definitely don't regret selling it, unlike the nissan that I would happily buy back in a flash.

I'm another one that still lusts after another S14A 200SX!

I don't know what it was about that car but it seriously got under my skin. I look at the classifieds most days wanting another one.

[RS Grant]

Great cars, under estimated and far more substantially built compared to the equivalent Imprezas, Pulsars and Evos of the time.

This car has been for sale for years, with the asking price steadily increasing over that time... same as this Impreza 22B copy ( Click Here) which IIRC started at £18k but is sitting at just under £40k now.

I think the Celica may well have sold a long time ago if it had been white, which seems to be the most sought after colour.

[coldel]

I was surprised at how many owners wanted a red one when I went along to meets - white is a common colour for these.

[bozzy.]

RedAndy said:

cerb4.5lee said:

I've driven one of these(UK spec) a couple of times and I enjoyed it. I always remember that it didn't feel as quick as I was expecting it to though.

the lad who bought mine turned up in his dad's Focus RS mk1 said the same. As he pulled away he left his dad for dead. They just didn't feel fast, but they absolutely were fast!

My pal’s did a 13.7 at Elvington RWYB. The only upgrades were an HKS air filter and a Kakimoto stainless exhaust system. For reference we went along with a lad who owned a Mk4 Supra TT which was 400bhp. That was running similar times, although it was an auto and struggled to launch like the Celica did!

[Jack4688]

I was always intrigued by these growing up and I finally bought one a couple of years ago when I was backpacking in New Zealand (yes, a backpacker driving a Celica ST205 GT-Four...). I remember not particularly liking it until you pushed it past city/town driving conditions and on country roads it absolutely lit up like mad!

I ended up selling it so that the Mrs. and I could backpack together through NZ in a Legacy flat-six wagon. Because of that glorious car I rarely ever remember owning a GT-Four haha

[mikey P 500]

Sold my one about 4 years ago similar low miles and a face lift car with the recaro seats too, for £4000 should have kept hold of it based on today's prices.
Nice car and really good on track.

[BricktopST205]

Fantastic cars. Criminal how these are valued compared to integrale's and cossies. Far better built and technology for the time. They also offer a fantastic base for a truly epic car. Mine just has carbotechs, grooved discs and rebuilt calipers but was out braking VX220's. Even my friends were saying it had no right doing that!

Edited by BricktopST205 on Tuesday 11th June 20:22

[Alpinestars]

Do they 4w drift as easily as the article suggests, or are they boringly 4wd safe?

[Mr E]

Alpinestars said:

Do they 4w drift as easily as the article suggests, or are they boringly 4wd safe?

The only time I got it to move sideways I was being an absolute tool.

[BricktopST205]

Alpinestars said:

Do they 4w drift as easily as the article suggests, or are they boringly 4wd safe?

Mine has white line rear anti roll bar and AD08's. Quite easy in wet conditions although being 4wd keeping your foot in will easily correct it. They do grip well in the dry though although have spun mine a couple of times before being overly aggressive on kerbs.

[Alpinestars]

Thanks both. Always fancied one of these but never got round to it.