Hybrid: 1981 Toyota Celica Supra Hatchback
All Toyotas, All Day continues with this next Yota that combines the classic Celica name with Supra attitude. It was really just a Celica with an inline-6 shoved where the inline-4 normally lived (and a longer snout) but it was the start of a few decades of competition with Nissan over who makes the better 6-cylinder sports car (spoiler alert — it was BMW). Find this 1981 Toyota Celica Supra Hatchback here on eBay
bidding for $5,500 buy-it-now or make-offer located in Cornelius, NC with 5 days to go.
The first generation Supra may have shared everything from the A-pillar back with the Celica, but it was aimed squarely more upmarket. The 2.8 liter 5M-E inline-6 was rated at 116 horsepower /145 ft-lbs of torque and this one has the desirable 5-speed manual gearbox.
The red interior looks garish by today’s standards, but it works really well with the black exterior if you ask me.
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This thing was a pig in its day, an even more ponderous version of a Celica that wasn't a very interesting drive anyway.
And virtually anything you can buy now is faster.
But it's a mark of where the Japanese auto industry is today that they make almost nothing now (okay, you can still get a Miata or an FRS) that's remotely as interesting.
Celica : Celica Supra ; Spitfire : GT6+
Only it's +++++, because it weighs twice as much, and has nearly the same horsepower.
But if you squint, you can see a Mercury Capri.
BMW's smallest straight 6 made a fart more horsepower than this with only 2 liters, back in 1982.
This Supra was basically a Celica with a Crown taxi motor. I have fond carnal memories of a Celica of this generation, not enough to want to own one unless the particular individual involved came with it (and then I'd probably find out that memories should stay memories.) But not a Supra.
The next one was the swoopy, pretty car with the twincam six and made…less pferdestaerke than a current Hyundai Accent. But damn, it was a nice car for its time, and that 145HP thing under the hood looked impressive.
I test drove one back in the day with the Sports Performance Package that had the two-tone paint. Looked sharp but was unimpressed with the performance. Ended up buying a 1977 Datsun 280Z which was way more fun to drive.