Toyota Celica LB Turbo
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The Toyota Celica Liftback Turbo was a Group 5 Special Production
racecar Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including n ...
version of the 3-door liftback first generation Toyota Celica GT built by
Schnitzer Schnitzer is a German noun meaning "carver" and is the surname of: * Eduard Schnitzer (1840–1892), physician, naturalist and governor of the Egyptian province of Equatoria on the upper Nile * Florian Schnitzer (born 1981), German ice hockey pla ...
via
Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...
Deutschland to compete in Division 1 of the
DRM DRM may refer to: Government, military and politics * Defense reform movement, U.S. campaign inspired by Col. John Boyd * Democratic Republic of Madagascar, a former socialist state (1975–1992) on Madagascar * Direction du renseignement militair ...
. It competed in the
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
series in 1977 and 1978. Plagued by reliability problems, it finished twice and won a non-championship race. At the end of its
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
an career, it went on to compete in
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
with minor success. Throughout its competitive seasons, it was the only non-German car to compete in the top division of the German series.


Development

The A20 Celica was built to compete against the
Porsche 935 The Porsche 935 is a race car that was developed and manufactured by German automaker Porsche. Introduced in 1976 as the factory racing version of the Porsche 911 (930), 911 (930) Turbo and prepared for Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, ...
s that had dominated international
motorsport Motorsport or motor sport are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of Car, automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and Aircraft, powered aircraft. For each of these vehicle types, the more specific term ...
and also the Division 1 of the German DRM series for Group 5 cars. It was based on the 3-door liftback first generation Toyota Celica GT. As with all Group 5 cars, the Celica received extensive modifications to the bodywork, which was re-styled and built from lightweight
fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) is a common type of fibre-reinforced plastic, fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened i ...
. Only the hood, roof, doors and rail panel were retained from the stock model. The Celica's distinctive features are its wider body sills in front of and behind the door panel and sloping nose beyond the bonnet, which encases the double headlamps and square grille. To keep up with its competitions, Schnitzer used the Toyota 18R-G engine''Toyota Twin Cam''
p. 25
from its production model with a specially designed 16 valve
cylinder head In a piston engine, the cylinder head sits above the cylinders, forming the roof of the combustion chamber. In sidevalve engines the head is a simple plate of metal containing the spark plugs and possibly heat dissipation fins. In more modern ...
and a
Kugelfischer Kugelfischer injection (also called ''System Kugelfischer'') is the name for a mechanical fuel injection (MFI) pump. It was produced by FAG Kugelfischer and later by Robert Bosch GmbH Derived from diesel pumps from the early 1960s, the Kugelfisc ...
fuel injection Fuel injection is the introduction of fuel in an internal combustion engine, most commonly automotive engines, by the means of a fuel injector. This article focuses on fuel injection in reciprocating piston and Wankel rotary engines. All c ...
system topped up with a KKK turbocharger. The engine produced a total output of from its bored engine. Partway through the 1978 season, as the Celica color scheme was changed from blue to red and white, revisions were also made to its bodywork to improve its
aerodynamics Aerodynamics () is the study of the motion of atmosphere of Earth, air, particularly when affected by a solid object, such as an airplane wing. It involves topics covered in the field of fluid dynamics and its subfield of gas dynamics, and is an ...
. Aside being factory supported, sponsorship was provided by optical manufacturer Rodenstock.


1977

The Celica made its debut in the eighth round of the DRM series in
Hockenheimring The Hockenheimring, officially Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg () is a motor racing circuit situated in the Rhine valley near the town of Hockenheim in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, located on the Bertha Benz Memorial Route. Amongst other mot ...
in July 1977, supporting the
German Grand Prix The German Grand Prix () was a motor race that took place most years since 1926, with 75 races having been held. The race has been held at only three venues throughout its history: the Nürburgring in Rhineland-Palatinate, Hockenheimring in B ...
. Driven by
Harald Ertl Harald Ertl (31 August 1948 – 7 April 1982) was an Austrian racing driver and motorsport journalist. He was born in Zell am See and attended the same school as Grand Prix drivers Jochen Rindt, Helmut Marko and Niki Lauda. Ertl sported an 'Impe ...
, the blue Celica qualified thirteenth, 25 seconds per lap slower than the pole-winning 935. It retired from the race after four laps. It returned for the following round in
Zolder The Circuit Zolder, also known as Circuit Terlamen, is an undulating motorsport race track in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium. History Built in 1963, Zolder hosted the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix on 10 separate occasions in the 1970s and 1980s, a ...
, qualifying seventh, five seconds slower than the pole-winning 935. There it retired after 3 laps. At the final round in
Nürburgring The () is a 150,000-person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long configuration, built in the 1920s ...
, it finished fourth behind three
privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...
Porsche 935s which it had intended to compete against. The Celica returned to Zolder for a non-championship ADAC Trophy to score its only victory.


1978

In the 1978 season,
Rolf Stommelen Rolf Johann Stommelen (; 11 July 1943 – 24 April 1983) was a German racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . In endurance racing, Stommelen was a four-time winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona with Porsche. Stommelen participated in ...
, the defending champion with the Gelo Racing Team, a top Porsche privateer, took over driving duties from Ertl, who stepped down to campaign
BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...
s with the team in the lower Division 2. At the first round in Zolder, the Celica retired from engine failure on its second lap. At the
Nürburgring The () is a 150,000-person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long configuration, built in the 1920s ...
round supporting the
Eifelrennen The Eifelrennen was an annual motor race, organised by ADAC Automobile Club from 1922 to 2003, held in Germany's Eifel mountain region. Like other races of its time it was first held on public roads. In 1927 it was moved to the newly-built Nürbu ...
skipping the previous round also at the same track, it retired after four laps. Skipping the next round at
AVUS The ('Automobile traffic and training road'), known as AVUS (), is a public road in Berlin, Germany. Opened in 1921, it was also used as a motor racing circuit until 1998. Today, the AVUS forms the northern part of the Bundesautobahn 115. C ...
to prepare for the
1000 km Nürburgring 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
, Stommelen partnered with Ertl. Although they qualified sixth, the pair retired with water pump and engine failure. Returning for the following round at Mainz Finthen, they finished eighth behind seven 935s (the highest finishing non-935 in the race). At Hockenheim, after avoiding the previous two rounds, it retired after an accident on the seventh lap, and at Zolder, it retired failing to complete a single lap. It never returned to compete again with two rounds remaining. After that season, Schnitzer exclusively campaigned BMWs with greater successes.


Japan

In 1979, the Celica was brought over to
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
by
TOM'S is an automotive aftermarket parts manufacturer and tuner of Toyota and Lexus vehicles, as well as a factory-backed racing team. The TOM'S head office is located in Tokyo, Japan. TOM'S most prominently produces aftermarket parts for current ...
to compete in the Fuji Super Silhouette Series by its company founder,
Nobuhide Tachi is a former Japanese racing driver, and the co-founder of TOM'S, a Japanese racing team and Car tuning, tuner for Toyota and Lexus. His son, Shingo Tachi, Shingo was also a racing driver. Career Racing career Tachi was born in Suzuka, Mie, Suzuk ...
. In four of the five rounds held at
Fuji Speedway is a motorsport race track standing in the foothills of Mount Fuji, in Oyama, Shizuoka, Oyama, Suntō District, Shizuoka, Suntō District, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It was built in the early 1960s. In the 1980s, Fuji Speedway was used for the ...
he competed in, he won on its third attempt, only to retire on all others. Retired in favour of their RA40 Celica that was developed in conjunction with
Dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...
, the car was later sold to Trust Japan in 1981, which then later reverted the front nose back to the original Schnitzer version configuration. Under Kaoru Hoshino, it retired on its first round at Fuji, then finished ninth, six laps behind the winning Nissan Bluebird of Haruto Yanagida. Subsequently, it finished third and then eighth. In 1982, Hoshino retired in his next two races with the car after five and four laps respectively at Fuji. In its final round at
Tsukuba Circuit is a motorsport race track located in Shimotsuma, Ibaraki, Shimotsuma, a neighboring city of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, about north of central Tokyo. It is long, with 32 Pit stop, pit garages and a long back straig ...
, driven by Tatsuhiko Kaneumi, it finished fifth. The following year, the Schnitzer Celica was retired in favour of the newly acquired
Porsche 956 The Porsche 956 was a Group C sports-prototype racing car designed by Norbert Singer and built by Porsche in 1982 for the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA World Sportscar Championship. It was later upgraded to the 956B in 1984. I ...
to compete in the newly introduced All Japan Endurance Championship. The Celica resurfaced again for its final appearance again at the same final round at Tsukuba, managing to finish ninth. Since the car was sold off, prior to the collapse of the super silhouette series in 1984, very little is known of its history. Nothing was heard of the car until it was discovered in the 2000s in a junkyard in Japan in a neglected state with its Trust color scheme.


Models

Despite its limited success in the series in spite of its claim it "won the German National Championship in 1977" printed on its catalogue and its subsequent editions, the DRM liftback was immortalised in several different versions. Tamiya released static plastic model kits in both 1/20 and 1/24 scale, and the 1/24 version was re-released several times until the late 2000s. Tamiya also produced two different
radio controlled car Radio-controlled cars, or RC cars for short, are model vehicle, miniature vehicles (cars, vans, buses, buggy (automobile), buggies, etc.) Radio control, controlled via radio. Nitro powered models use glow plug (model engine), glow plug engine ...
kits. The initial 1/12 scale version was released in 1977, followed by a bigger 1/10 scale version with polycarbonate body in 2012. Bburago made a 1/24 scale toy model with metal body. In 2003, slotcar manufacturer MRRC produced a 1/32 scale slotcar in different liveries, including a black colored fantasy "GSR" livery as a promotional item for the Spanish Guia Slot Racing Magazine.


References

{{Toyota Sportscar Racers Grand tourer racing cars 24 Hours of Le Mans race cars Celica LB Turbo