The Toyota Curren Was the Celica's Lost JDM Cousin With Four-Wheel Steering and a TV

The Japanese domestic market is like that iceberg meme; it only seems to harbor more secrets the deeper you go. The second you think you've found the most obscure car possible, like the Toyota Classic, you're primed for surprise by the next unknown. In this case, it's a version of the ST200 Toyota Celica called the Toyota Curren, and it's been hiding in plain sight with performance tech that was never available on the Celica.

The Curren was introduced in January 1994 as a more reserved Celica alternative, one without any boy-racer connotations. Its name comes from the English word "current," and was meant to convey that it was stylish and "chic," according to a sales brochure on Auto Catalog Archive. However, its phonetic translation sounds more like "Karen." That has no bearing on anything, I just think it's funny.

Looking like a mashup of the Celica, Honda Prelude, and S14 Nissan Silvia, the Curren was based on the Celica notchback that we got in the U.S. alongside the liftback. The Celica convertible was also based on this, which is why it has the Curren's taillights. As for the front, it's more like the contemporary Camry, giving it a less divisive face than the bug-eyed ST205 we all remember.

The Curren seems to have been formulated as a direct answer to the Prelude. Both are toned-down, front-wheel-drive sporty coupes with subtle styling and enough kick for a good time, though neither are the fastest thing in their class. Still, they needed a reason for people to buy them, and they offered the same incentive: four-wheel steering and an advanced suspension design.