A Study in Stewardship: 73k-Mile 1984 Toyota Celica GT-S Liftback 5-Speed
- April 05, 2021
- Wonderfully Preserved & Maintained Survivor
- Possible Single-Family Ownership From New
- Fabulous Color Combination & Condition
- Reasonable 73k Miles Followed by 20-Years Garage Storage
- Renewed ‘22RE’ 2.4L 4-Cylinder EFI Engine
- 5-Speed Manual Transmission
- Refreshingly Unmodified & Exceptionally Original
- Brand New BFG Radials, A/C, Factory Leather Interior
As the time-honored adage goes, “A car can be original only once.” Thankfully, this 1984 Toyota Celica GT-S Liftback has been carefully used and faithfully kept in wonderfully original condition over the past 37 years. It seems that the car has been under single-family ownership and care from new, and according to the seller, it was driven 73k original miles and then covered and stored inside their garage for the past 20 years. Powered by Toyota’s renowned 2.4L ‘22RE’ 4-cylinder EFI engine with a 5-speed manual transmission, this prime-quality Celica also features a factory leather interior, A/C, power windows, and a very desirable sunroof. The seller states the car drives beautifully and it comes with a brand new set of BF Goodrich tires with 0 miles on them at the time the car’s sale ad was posted online. Yes, there are some scratches and a few door dings, but considering it it's 37 years old now, the Celica looks great today, nonetheless. Properly maintained and unmodified with the exception of wear items, this Celica is a wonderful example all around, being offered for sale due to lack of storage space.
While the first couple of Celica generations begat the Supra, collector-car price guides do not list the former in their tables. That’s a shame, given the Celica’s quality, longevity, and interestingly angular styling that continues to age very well today. Additionally, Supra performance really didn’t far outstrip the Celica’s until the 1986 Supra Turbo and the subsequent 1994-1998 iterations. While the Celica was not at all rare in period and the vast majority provided faithful and sporty transportation for many years until most were used up and traded in or wholesaled, prime-quality survivors like our subject car are extremely rare today. A quick perusal of online auction websites yields few closely comparable cars and their selling prices have been much lower than this outstanding survivor. Given its great condition and originality, this well-preserved specimen is certainly Worth the Premium in our opinion.
