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Toyota-Celica-ST165-GT-Four-Turbo Toyota introduced the "ultimate Celica", the GT-Four (ST165) onto the Japanese market in October 1986. With full-time all-wheel drive, including an electronically controlled central locking differential, and a turbocharged version of the GT-S 2.0 L engine producing 190 hp (142 kW) (3S-GTE) Toyota�s frontline weapon in the World Rally Championship during the late 1980s was an all-wheel drive version of the popular Celica sports car, the first time a Japanese manufacturer enjoyed real success in Group A, leading the way for a new generation of rally cars from Mitsubishi and Subaru. Badged the GT-Four in road-going form, the ST165 Celica was powered by Toyota�s advanced 3S-GTE turbocharged 2-litre engine with Bosch L-Jetronic fuel injection and four-valves per cylinder, developing around 190bhp. Debuting in the 1988 Tour de Corse, the Celica didn�t taste succcess until Rally Australia the following year.
The ST165 chassis design was quite acclaimed in its time. Toyota chose not to make any drastic suspension changes for the AWD GT-Four. The front suspension comprises MacPherson struts with an anti-swaybar and strut tower brace, while the rear employs struts with a trailing link and twin lateral links per side plus an anti-swaybar.
Turbo All-Trac: The turbo All-Trac (chassis code ST165), or turbo 4wd as it was named in Canada, is the American version of the GT-Four. It was given a DOHC turbo-charged, water-to-air intercooled 2.0L engine (3S-GTE) featuring T-VIS producing 190 hp (142 kW) at 6000 rpm and 190 ft-lbs of torque at 3200 rpm. The All-Trac only came with a 5-speed all wheel drive transmission with a viscous-coupling center differential, bringing the curb weight to 3197 lbs.
The ST165 was not sold in North America before 1988 except for seventy-seven special-edition cars sold in 1987 as 1988 models at each of the 77 Toyota dealerships in California to commemorate Toyota's IMSA GTO championship win. These Celicas are all white with white wheels and blue interior and have "IMSA GTO CHAMPION" printed in small letters on the side moulding, as well as a white stripe on the grill. This top of the line trim came with the same options as the GT-S with the exception of the power interior options, leather steering wheel, fog lights, V-rated tires, and a factory full body kit as standard. One interior feature that is missing from the GT-S trim and other trims is the cup holder as the center console is different due to a larger center body tunnel to accommodate for the ST165's center drive shaft.
Toyota-Celica-ST185-GT-Four-Grp-A-Rallye-Turbo Toyota released a second generation GT-Four, codenamed the ST185, in 1989, featuring more curvacous styling, an air-to-air intercooler and a significant boost in power. The four-wheel drive system had a central viscous coupling and Torsen rear differential, with a 50/50 split between front and rear. Transmission was via an all-synchromesh five-speed gearbox with a single dry plate clutch and Australian delivered cars used the E151F unit with a 3.933 ratio. Bodywork on all export market ST185 Celicas featured pronounced flared arches (known as wide bodies, with narrow bodied cars reserved for the Japanese market until August 1990).
Homologated for Group A, the ST185 debuted at the 1992 Rally Monte Carlo and went on to win four events that year, with legendary Spaniard Carlos Sainz claiming the World Driver�s Championship. Competing against the all-conquering Lancia Delta Integrales, the Toyotas aquitted themselves well and ultimately won no less than 38 WRC events and both Driver�s and Manufacturer�s Championships in 1993 and 1994. In order to homologate the car for Group A, Toyota had to build at least 2500 road going versions and these have become sought after amongst discerning enthusiasts for their fantastic handling, rapid performance and potential as track day or rally cars.
The base engine for the ST185 GT-four was Toyota's 3S-GTE Turbocharged 2.0-litre, four-cylinder DOHC unit, with output increased from 185 to 265bhp in line with the new Group A regulations. Key strengths included good acceleration response and torque delivery in low to mid-range, coupled to the traction and performance provided by the full-time four-wheel drive system.
The Celica GT-Four was developed from scratch to meet the new Group A regulations, introduced for the 1988 season, but a delay in homologation meant that it didn't make its debut until the Tour de Corse, the fifth event of the year. There were many innovative features in the design and engineering of the GT-Four, including an Xtrac six-speed transmission. Toyota was fully committed to winning the WRC and engineers worked intensively on trouble-shooting early problems through to the middle of the 1989 season. Then came the breakthrough everyone was working for, with Carlos Sainz putting in an aggressive drive on the 1,000 Lakes to demonstrate just what this remarkable car was capable of.
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