(1994) TOYOTA CELICA GT-FOUR vs TOYOTA GR YARIS (2021)
How does Toyota’s newest homologation special live up to its 27-year-old predecessor?
A PUKKA RALLYING PAIR?
One more so than the other. That Toyota developed the GR Yaris as a platform for a better rally car isn’t in doubt, but as yet it hasn’t competed. Fingers crossed for 2022. The Celica GT-Four WRC you see here formed the basis for Toyota’s frontline rally car in 1995, with Didier Auriol taking it to victory on the Tour de Corse.
HOW CLOSELY RELATED ARE THE ROAD AND RALLY CARS?
They used to be closer. The current WRC regulations are a silhouette formula. It’s got to look like a car you’ve built at least 25,000 of, but apart from engine size, the mechanics don’t have to match. Back in the Celica’s day, 2,500 cars had to be built and they were the basis for the rally car. Under the Group A regulations the rally car could go further. But not as far as Toyota pushed it.
HOW DO YOU MEAN?
Toyota cheated. The cars ran turbo inlet restrictors so they all developed around 300bhp, but in the Celica, when the restrictor plate was tightened up it caused an extra hidden channel to flex open 0.5cm, allowing extra air into the engine. An extra 50bhp was the guess. It was spotted at the penultimate round of the 1995 championship and Toyota was banned from competing the following year. When it returned to rallying in 1997, it was with a Corolla hatchback, and the homologation special era was over.
UNTIL THE ARRIVAL OF THE GR YARIS...
The rally car will still be a very different, much modified beast compared to the road car. Toyota’s triumph is in convincing us that this road-going Yaris acts and behaves exactly like a WRC front runner. It drives like you hope and expect a rally car to drive. Zero turbo lag, punchy, eager, terrific grip and cornering poise.
IS THE CELICA FASTER THAN THE YARIS?
The Celica’s 2.0-litre four develops 239bhp and 224lb ft of torque, enough to send 1,440kg of Celica to 62mph in 5.9secs. Very quick in its day. The Yaris motor, half a litre and one cylinder down, develops 257bhp and 266lb ft of torque. We’ve timed the 1,280kg hatch to 60mph in 4.6secs, against a claim of 5.5secs to 62mph. So no, the speed advantage lies with the new car.
WHICH IS TOYOTA’S MOST SUCCESSFUL RALLY CAR?
Neither. Well, not in the forms you see here. The previous-gen Yaris still competes in the WRC, having won the manufacturer title in 2018 and the drivers’ championship in ’19 and ’20. This Celica, the ST205 generation, won just that single round. However, its ST165 and ST185 predecessors were title-winning machines. The ST165 won 13 rallies and took Carlos Sainz to the championship in 1990, while its replacement won 16 rallies and three titles on the bounce. That’s some legacy for the GR Yaris to live up to.