1996 Toyota Celica GT-Four ST205

Registration No: N306 ANA
Chassis No: JT164STL500009515
MOT: July 2023
Estimate: £5,000 - £7,000

Motor Car Location: Cambridgeshire

• 1 of just 2,500 examples understood to have been manufactured to homologate the GT-Four ST205 as an entrant for the World Rally Championship
• Current ownership since 2014, with just four former keepers
• Subject to much improvement while in current ownership
• UK-supplied example

The 90s was arguably the heyday of the Japanese performance car, with most manufacturers from the Land of the Rising Sun producing more than one hot model. In stark contrast to today, Toyota was the prime mover - with three proper sports cars in the range. But whilst the MR2 and Supra may have grabbed the majority of the attention, it was the Celica GT-Four that garnered the most motorsport success - winning a total of 30 rallies in ST165, ST185 and ST205 guises. Toyota's sixth-generation three-door ST205 GT-Four Coupe first hit UK showrooms in March 1994 and its four-cylinder 16-valve 3S-GTE engine boasted twin overhead camshafts, an aluminium head and an 8.5:1 compression ratio, plus a twin-entry turbo with a charge-cooler - rather than an air-to-air intercooler. Power output was 239hp for UK cars with Japanese models producing 255bhp. The five-speed manual gearbox employed with a hydraulic single-plate clutch, along with a permanent four-wheel-drive system with a viscous centre coupling and a torque-sensing rear differential. Just 2,500 were built to allow Toyota to enter the GT-Four as a Group A rally car, with the majority going to the Japanese market.

Manufactured in 1996, this ST205 is one of just 300 thought to have been supplied to Europe, being first registered in the United Kingdom on the 21^st of February 1996. Fitted with the 1998cc four-cylinder turbocharged 3S-GTE engine allied to a five-speed manual transmission. Finished in Toyota Storm Grey with Grey interior upholstery, the Toyota has been in current ownership since 2014 which just four former keepers from new and having covered some 175,900 miles from new at the time of consignment. Benefitting from a polybushed and powder-coated subframes and a restored chassis in previous ownership, the Celica has been subject to much further improvement since entering into the vendor's possession, engine work, a brake overhaul, shock absorber refurbishment, repainting, further mechanical refurbishment and a full service in 2021. Offered with a history file which includes service history documentation, photographs of the work completed and a current V5C.

For more information, please contact:
Paul Cheetham
paul.cheetham@handh.co.uk
07538 667452