Toyota Celica Twincam Turbo (TA64)

The Celica TCT was no supercar. It had rear-wheel drive and a front-mounted engine, and it weighed noticeably more than its rivals. But on the long, rough African rallies — where reliability and toughness counted for more than outright speed — it was almost unbeatable.

Toyota Celica Twincam Turbo (TA64) — indicative

Engine2,090 cc 4T-GTE four-cylinder, turbocharged, front-mounted
Powerapprox. 320–370 hp depending on specification (sources differ)
Driverear wheels
Weightapprox. 1,150 kg (indicative)
TeamToyota Team Europe (TTE), Cologne
WRC wins6 — Ivory Coast 1983, Safari 1984, Safari 1985, Ivory Coast 1985, Safari 1986, Ivory Coast 1986
Grouve Sport documentary

Episode 7 — The Underdogs: Toyota, Opel, Nissan, Mazda, Renault, Citroën, Porsche & Ferrari

Why an ‘old-fashioned’ Celica won the Safari three years in a row.

Built for the long haul

Toyota Team Europe, the Cologne-based outfit run by former rally driver Ove Andersson, built the Group B Celica on the third-generation Celica coupé. While other teams invested in four-wheel drive and mid-mounted engines, TTE opted for a robust, relatively simple car that could survive the punishing conditions of the Safari and the Ivory Coast Rally. See Toyota Team Europe.

Results

The first win came in the Ivory Coast in 1983, with Björn Waldegård and Hans Thorszelius. The Celica then won the Safari three years running: Waldegård in 1984, Juha Kankkunen with Fred Gallagher in 1985 (Kankkunen’s first world rally win), and Waldegård again, now partnered by Gallagher, in 1986. Further Ivory Coast wins followed in 1985 (Kankkunen) and 1986 (Waldegård). In 1986 Toyota even filled the entire Ivory Coast podium (Waldegård, Lars-Erik Torph, Erwin Weber).

Away from Africa the car was less competitive, although Per Eklund finished third on the 1984 RAC Rally.

A 1986 Celica Twincam Turbo Group B rally car at the Louwman Museum in The Hague.
A 1986 Celica Twincam Turbo Group B rally car at the Louwman Museum in The Hague.Photo: Rutger van der Maar via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

The king of Africa: six world championship wins, all of them in Africa — Ivory Coast 1983, 1985 and 1986, and three Safari Rallies in a row.

Successor

After Group B, TTE moved to Group A with the Supra and then the Celica GT-Four.

Results in the World Rally Championship

World Rally Championship podiums of the car (all evolutions), year by year (1982–1986). win 2nd 3rd

1982
1win
5 podiums
1983
1win
2 podiums
1984
1win
2 podiums
1985
2wins
4 podiums
1986
2wins
5 podiums

7 WRC wins · 18 podium finishes, 1982–1986

Photo gallery 4 photos

Historic Group B cars photographed at events, demonstrations and museums; each caption states where and when.

Toyota Celica Twin Cam Turbo in its 1985 Safari Rally livery (No. 21), shown at the Tokyo Nostalgic Car Show 2007
Toyota Celica Twin Cam Turbo in its 1985 Safari Rally livery (No. 21), shown at the Tokyo Nostalgic Car Show 2007Photo: Rikita via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Toyota Celica Twin Cam Turbo Group B rally car at the Bremen Classic Motorshow 2025
Toyota Celica Twin Cam Turbo Group B rally car at the Bremen Classic Motorshow 2025Photo: More Cars via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
Toyota Celica Twin Cam Turbo Group B rally car (No. 3) at the Bremen Classic Motorshow 2025
Toyota Celica Twin Cam Turbo Group B rally car (No. 3) at the Bremen Classic Motorshow 2025Photo: More Cars via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
Toyota Celica Twin Cam Turbo (TA64) in its 1985 Ivory Coast Rally livery (No. 1), photographed 2009
Toyota Celica Twin Cam Turbo (TA64) in its 1985 Ivory Coast Rally livery (No. 1), photographed 2009Photo: Robin Corps via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

Further resources

All Group B resources →

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Sources

  1. Wikipedia (EN), Toyota Celica Twincam Turbo / Celica in rallying — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Celica_Twincam_Turbo
  2. Wikipedia (EN), Toyota Team Europe — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Team_Europe
  3. Wikipedia (EN), Ove Andersson — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ove_Andersson
  4. eWRC-results — https://www.ewrc-results.com/

All text is original writing for Grouve Sports Management Group, based on the sources above. Facts checked on 21 October 2026.

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Thumbnail photos on this page: SG2012 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); Brian Snelson from Hockley, Essex, England (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); HombreDHojalata (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0); SG2012 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); MrWalkr (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); _morgado (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0).