Ahh, one of my earlier autos here in Murica, and yes its engine is "bulletproof"

[theking]

One found its' way to our "garage"... :

This Toyota Celica USGP is a ‘Time Capsule’ of the ‘80s


The ‘80s called, they want their parachute pants, tracksuits, and hairstyles back. But we’ve made one condition… we get to keep the cars.

It’s not hard to see why the Big Three stepped it up however, with sporty imports like the Porsche 944, Nissan 300ZX, BMW E30 M3, and this car—a 1980 Toyota Celica USGP—finding homes in garages all across the USA.

After 36 years in the wild, this limited-edition Celica has resurfaced on eBay, and from the photos, it looks to be remarkably “time capsule” clean.

So what was a “USGP” Celica? In 1980, Toyota celebrated its involvement with the United States Grand Prix West (hence the “USGP” moniker) by producing these limited-edition Celica GT hatchbacks, which brought unique styling treatments to the Celica nameplate.

At a cost of $750 extra, Toyota offered each USGP Celica with a special honeycomb grille, black B-pillars, dual color side stripes, mud guards, unique alloy wheels, plus a black leather steering wheel, ivory seats (as well as ivory headliners and door panels), and a then high-tech sound system.

A five-speed manual transmission was tasked with sending all 90 of the 2.2-liter 20R four-cylinder’s horsepowers to the road, and though that doesn’t sound like much, enthusiasts have long spoken of these engines with the word “bulletproof.”

[theking]

And what was one of the most common accessories for Celica liftback, the first Japanese car to win the World Rally Championship crown? Wheels? Nope, suspension upgrades? Nope, power/tuning stuff? Nope....


Gotta have some louvers  :

[theking]

Sure the latest Celica may wear some louvers too but it's just not the same as the ones in the 80's era... :

[Hitokiri]

Nice. So I'm somewhat confused. Do you actually own one then? Sorry. I'm somewhat slow tonight. 

[theking]

Nice. So I'm somewhat confused. Do you actually own one then? Sorry. I'm somewhat slow tonight. 

Yes, my brother bought it used from an older White guy in the mid 80's. Then when he got married, he passed it along and changed the ownership to me a few years later. The funny thing is we didn't know about the USGP stuff as we didn't care much about auto racing in general at the time. We just see it as another Celica...

He ended up picking up this as it was more practical for him once the kids start popping out.. :

[Hitokiri]

Yes, my brother bought it used from an older White guy in the mid 80's. Then when he got married, he passed it along and changed the ownership to me a few years later. The funny thing is we didn't know about the USGP stuff as we didn't care much about auto racing in general at the time. We just see it as another Celica...

Cool. As the former owner said the USGP use to be held at Long Beach in the West and Watkins Glen in New York in the East. Today Indycar has taken over the Long Beach site and has been racing there for 40 years (its still sponsored by Toyota dealerships).

The 80's and 90's Toyota did a lot of racing. Much of it many of the tuners and even Toyota fans do not about which I think is sad. 

He ended up picking up this as it was more practical for him once the kids start popping out.. :

Still nice. 

[supadupac]

those are so pretty now days

[theking]

those are so pretty now days

I've owned like 3 Celicas total and this is my favorite gen in terms of looks:

[Superan]

I've owned like 3 Celicas total and this is my favorite gen in terms of looks:

I like the convertible version better

[lexicon]

I've owned like 3 Celicas total and this is my favorite gen in terms of looks:

Nice.

Love old boxy cars. '89 Celica All Trac