Remembering Japanese cars from the past

Tag: toyota celica (Page 4 of 5)

Super rare: Toyota Celica Camry RA55

In 1980 Toyota launched a sedan Celica variant and called it the Celica Camry but in essence it was a face-lifted luxurious version of the Carina A40. In some countries it was simply called Toyota Camry and separated two years later into a FWD upmarket sedan and liftback.

But the first generation was still one of the most awesome mid-size sedans made by Toyota because of its engines and optional IRS. The first generation had a GT version of the Celica Camry featuring the 2 liter 18R-GEU DOHC engine (head by Yamaha) with an output of 135hp and nowadays this is the most sought after Celica/Carina of its generation. Imagine how rare this immaculate Celica Camry is:
Super rare Toyota Celica Camry
Super rare Toyota Celica Camry

This picture was taken at the Showa Meeting Ver.2 held in November last year.

Found at [Showa Meeting @ Minkara]

DOTS: Skyline R34, Celica ZZT230, Fairlady 350Z and Toyota Bb


How often can you spot a Nissan Skyline R34, Toyota Celica ZZT230 and a Toyota Bb parked next to each other?

If you look closely you can also spot another Celica ZZT230 further down in the parkinglot!
Skyline R34, Celica ZZT230 and Toyota Bb parked next to eachother
Skyline R34, Celica ZZT230 and Toyota Bb parked next to eachother

And how about spotting another red Toyota Bb parked in the center of some Dutch town the same day? And spot two other R34s the same day as well?
Toyota Bb parked in some Dutch towncenter
Toyota Bb parked in some Dutch towncenter

And if you turn your head 45 degrees see another Nissan Fairlady 350Z parked next to a big giant?
Nissan Fairlady 350Z
Nissan Fairlady 350Z

It is possible: if you visit the funpark Madurodam in the Hague! The funpark is a scaled down version of the landmarks in the Netherlands, so a heaven for all scale model enthusiasts! πŸ˜›

I’ve paid the park a visit with my son and my wife and saw various cars parked or driving on the roads of Madurodam. Most of them were just VW/Audi/Mercedes/etc. and actually some were interesting cars like Porsches and Masseratis but I did not expect some JDM car nut to throw around Skylines, Fairladies and Celicas as if they were common cars in the Netherlands! Take for instance this blue R34 next to the main railway station of Utrecht:
Blue Nissan Skyline R34 in Utrecht (main railway station)
Blue Nissan Skyline R34 in Utrecht (main railway station)

Just blends in the scenery nicely!

And I also didn’t know people at the ING Bank headquarters owned a black R34:
Blue Nissan Skyline R34 in Amsterdam (ING bank HQ)
Blue Nissan Skyline R34 in Amsterdam (ING bank HQ)

Yep, apparently even people at the ING bank have taste! πŸ˜›

There are probably a lot more Celicas, Fairladies and R34s to spot in Madurodam but I wouldn’t have had the time to take a picture of them anyway…

DOTS: Celica’s like brother and sister

Some time ago I saw a red Celica ST in the TACN magazine which looked very very familiar… When I saw the license plate I knew I did see it somewhere before… But then with different rims… The day after I knew where I saw it:
Brother and sister: two Toyota Celica ST AT180s
Brother and sister: two Toyota Celica ST AT180s

Right down the street, literally: it is parked one block away from my house! πŸ˜€

That evening I compared it with the one in the magazine and found out that it is indeed almost the same: the license plate is off by one number:
Brother and sister: two Toyota Celica ST AT180s
Brother and sister: two Toyota Celica ST AT180s

In the Netherlands we have incremental license plates (no vanity plates!) and the plate says something about when the car was registered with that plate. In this case both cars were bought on the same day and probably at the same dealer. Maybe they were even bought by a brother and sister. πŸ˜‰

At the Japan Classic Sunday I spotted the second car and tried to find the owner. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to find him, had a chat with the owner of the neighbouring car and took a picture of the car with the intention to post it up here in the DOTS. πŸ˜‰

Video: Austrian actor sells Japanese car collection

In April last year Japanese Nostalgic Car blog wrote about the Austrian actor Roland DΓΌringer selling his complete collection of Japanese cars. I kind of forgot about it afterwards (like most people do…) until I stumbled upon some videos on Youtube. πŸ˜‰

The videos of Roland DΓΌringer’s sales talks were shot after the posting by JNC blog and had the purpose to boost the auctions. I guess they certainly did: the Toyota Celica liftback sold for €16600!

Let’s enjoy some of the sales talks by Roland:

It is very difficult to understand and I hope your German is better than mine, otherwise it will be totally gibberish for you! πŸ˜€

Basically what he said was that the Crown was immaculate, has the 4M 6 cylinder 2600 engine, Japanese fender mirrors, skai interior and bonkers looks. The Corolla liftback is praised for its glasshouse look and only having 53000km on the odometer!

The Crown was sold for 3800 euros and the Corolla Liftback was sold for 2300 euros. Way too low for they state they were in!

So, how about another Toyota Corolla KE25 then?

This KE25 sold for 3650. Sounds like a good price for a Toyota Corolla Coupe deluxe with only 79000km on the odometer!

Something older than this? How about the Honda S800:

Sold for a well deserved 9550 euros. I love the selling point: the foglights! πŸ˜€

Something newer then? How about a 1980 Mitsubisi Sapporo:

Super rare in Austria: from what I understand this car was never sold in Austria. He had it imported (flown in to Austria) from the first owner and it still has its first paint. Sold for only 2650 euros.

Then the best car of the auction, the 1977 Toyota Celica RA28:

This car was sold by a dealer and but bought back from the buyer after 6000 kilometer! The rest of it is a bit gibberish to me, but apparently it was actually meant for the Austrian Toyota museum… The car eventually sold for 16600 euros!

A bit of a shame of the MS60, Liftback and the Sapporo, but at least the other cars sold for a good price! πŸ™‚

Xmas wish list: the “Japanese Historic Car Graffiti” 2010 calendar

When I saw this calendar I immediately thought “Damn, I want one!”.
Remember Japanese Historic Car Graffiti 2010 calendar
Remember Japanese Historic Car Graffiti 2010 calendar

The front already looks quite promising with the Honda 1300 coupe (and RA300 Formula one racecar in the background)

Remember Japanese Historic Car Graffiti 2010 calendar
Remember Japanese Historic Car Graffiti 2010 calendar

What about this mouth watering 4 door Nissan Skyline GTR PGC10?

Remember Japanese Historic Car Graffiti 2010 calendar
Remember Japanese Historic Car Graffiti 2010 calendar

And a first generation Celica GT fastback RA28?

Now, for only $14 that’s a bargain! Now how do I convince my wife that it is actually a bargain. πŸ˜‰

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