Long Beach GP Vintage Pro Celebrity Racers: 1991 Toyota Celica(s)
The highlight of the annual Toyota Grand Prix in Long Beach was an annual Pro/Celebrity race in Toyota street cars that was first run in 1977. The race has always had lots of carnage and is typically more fun to watch than the Indy/IRL/ChampCar parade of high-powered wing-equipped spec-chassis ‘race-cars’ held later in the day. Today we’ve got two of those mildly prepared Celicas offered from what appears to be an auction house or a dealer. Find this 1991 Toyota Celica Pro/Celebrity racer here and here via craigslist offered for $3999 each. (and on the Premier Auction Group website).
These cars come equipped with a racing seat, roll cage, and a set of tubular headers connected to a noisy exhaust. These particular cars might have raced in the 1991 or 1992 Pro/Celebrity race, and they may have been repainted/reliveryed over the year.s
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According to my 10 seconds of research, the 1991 LBGP Celeb race was won by Donny Osmond. There is video on the Toob, so it’s probably possible to figure out who drove which car. It would be cool to know if you’re the buyer. Maybe track the “celeb” down and have them autograph the glovebox door like Shelby did. Ha!
These probably have plenty of needs and require safety updates, but they’re not a bad starting point for track day/autocross toys. They’re already most of the way there. There aren’t many Celicas of this era left on the street, so at the very least you could part them out and do ok. They seem to have survived without obvious rust and damage.
If I was in the market for something like this, I’d probably buy one… or both.
Or, I wonder if it would be eligible for vintage racing if you gave it a period-correct paint job? If so, you’d be hard pressed to find a cheaper way to get into vintage events!