Yahoo Autos Future Classic: 1994-1999 Toyota Celica
Today, Toyota is undergoing a sort of performance car rebirth. The automaker offers the GR86, GR Supra, and GR Corolla in the United States, an about-face from just a few years ago when the sportiest car it offered was a V6-powered Camry. Toyota also offered a trio of sports cars in the 1990s, with the Celica, MR2, and Supra. The Celica took a bow almost 20 years ago, but it remains a popular choice among Japanese car enthusiasts for its sporty styling and fun driving dynamics.
There were seven Celica generations, so which one is best? The sixth-generation cars bring great value and feature the car’s signature styling before Toyota went off the rails for the seventh and last generation. They are also old enough to be eligible for import now, opening the door to all the weird and wonderful Celica variants Toyota saved for other countries. Let’s get rolling to discuss why the sixth-generation Celica is a future classic.
Why is the Toyota Celica a future classic?
The Toyota Celica, in general, has been enjoying a growth in popularity over the last 20 years, and its star has shined even brighter as other models become increasingly expensive and hard to find. Sixth-generation cars are a sort of last of the old-type of Celica, as the seventh-generation car was the not-so-loved model from the early 2000s.
The 1994 model year marked the sixth-gen Celica’s first on the U.S. market, and the two available trims offered buyers a choice between a base ST trim and a sportier GT trim. The entry-level ST came with a 1.8-liter engine, while the GT got a larger 2.2-liter engine shared with the Camry. Though other countries continued getting the All-Trac all-wheel drive versions, Americans didn’t see a rally-ready Celica during this generation.
Toyota also offered a convertible version, which was converted after production from the GT coupe. Toyota shipped the cars to California as partially assembled cars, and then ASC finished them by removing the roof and installing a three-layer powered soft top.
While the Celica name continued on for a few years after it, the sixth generation was the last car that remained true to the original styling and design languages. The seventh-gen car was sharper and eventually fell victim to declining sales. Sixth-generation cars are also eligible for import to the U.S., so buyers can get more powerful and obscure versions of the car from Japan and other countries.
