Sep. 20, 1999

Toyota Unleashes a Celica Sensation

Tokyo―TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION announced today the highly anticipated release of the fully-redesigned Celica, a culmination of revolutionary concepts and state-of-the-art engineering crafted into a fun-to-drive and pleasure-to-behold package.

The seventh generation of Toyota's eye-catching sport-specialty GT was created with three key points in mind:1) offering unique internal and extern; styling suitable for a new era, 2) imbuing all aspects of the car with pride, and 3) building a road machine to which today's youth can easily relate.

"We were able to create a symbol of quality performance and a sense of modernity, and at the same time came out with a revolutionary design filled with functional beauty," explains Chief Engineer Tadashi Nakagawa.

: Celica SS-II [GH-ZZT231BLFVF]

The all-new Celica uses aggressive surfaces and sharp lines to captivate onlookers on the outside, and smooth arches to create a sense of union between the driver and front-seat passenger on the inside. For power, both engines in its lineup, including the high-output 1.8-liter BEAMS^*1 2ZZ with VVTL-i^*2 technology, feature all-aluminum cylinder blocks for reduced weight and increased fuel efficiency.
Safety has been enhanced through improved maneuverability, with a light and rigid body, and through advances in Toyota's Global Outstanding Assessment (GOA) impact-absorbing technology.

^*1: Breakthrough Engine with Advanced Mechanism System

^*2: Variable Valve Timing & Lift-intelligent

The Formula

DESIGN THAT CAPTIVATES
Exterior design

The new Celica, with its long wheel base and short overhang, sports a "one-motion" silhouette combining attractive proportions that hint at a smooth ride.

The front presents an exciting visage whose distinguished vertically-elongated headlights and hood air intake set the car apart even at a glance from afar.

The design lines on the vehicle's sides offer a new twist with a combination of voluminous fenders and dynamic belts and personality lines.

The rear adopts a fresh approach using vertical statement-making lines and a design that emphasizes the low stable straddle of the tires.

A sporty interior that highlights the space shared by driver and front-seat "partner"

By crossing over the arching theme lines that connect the door trim with the console, the cabin interior gives the driver and passengers a sense of being comfortably enveloped in a wider space.

Featuring a basic black tone with red, blue, or amethyst sides (except for the Super Strut Package) that match the vehicle interior, the sporty seats hold drivers and passengers firmly in place even under the lateral G-forces and acceleration/deceleration G-forces that are part of sporty driving.

Aluminum plating on the accelerator pedal, the brake pedal, the clutch pedal, and the surface of the footrest adds the interior a further sportiness (standard feature in the Super Strut Package).

Improved features that make touring more enjoyable

The new Celica has a luxurious console with space for storing eight CDs or 10 cassettes, and comes equipped with large cup holders.

Light, compact, power-efficient, and quiet automobile air conditioners have been newly developed using the latest technology to control air-flow rates and temperature settings; these are standard features on vehicles with 2ZZ-GE engines. Air cleaning filters that remove pollen and similar airborne particles are installed as standard equipment on all vehicles.

The hazard lights blink in confirmation when locking or unlocking the vehicle doors using the wireless door lock system.

The Celica has sufficient trunk space for sports equipment and for short getaways for two.

The moonroof uses a sliding resin panel that provides for a lighter roof, and comes with a special coating that sports the Celica logo when viewed from outside but is completely transparent when looking out from inside the vehicle (option).

An optional DVD^* navigation system with greatly accelerated map scrolling and route searching that can perform destination searches from a large database of information, has been upgraded to allow five-route searches and guidance to tourist sites.

^*: Digital Video Disk

FUN AND COMFORT IN MOTION
Engine

1.8-liter BEAMS^*1 1ZZ-FE (VVT-i)

VVT-i, a high-compression ratio (10.0), and an oblique squish combustion chamber produce high torque, make for easy driving, and generate high horsepower. Light aluminum blocks and resin intake manifolds help reduce overall weight.

1.8-liter BEAMS 2ZZ-GE (VVTL-i)

This engine has a shorter stroke, a larger-bore valve, and a higher compression ratio (11.5), and thus has higher revolutions and higher output than the 1ZZ-FE engine.

MMC^*2 all-aluminum cylinder blocks are used to reduce weight and improve compactness. And new VVTL-i technology not only allows continual variance of intake valve timing, but also control of intake/exhaust valve lift, raising performance at low and medium speeds, and offering powerful tuning at high speeds.

^*1

Breakthrough Engine with Advanced Mechanism System

^*2

Metal Matrix Composite

Intelligent automatic transmission

The Celica uses a new super-intelligent four-speed automatic transmission (Super ECT), which ensures smooth shifting and high responsiveness with no discernible time lag.

The "Sports Steer Shiftmatic" allows drivers to shift gears without taking their hands from the steering wheel and thus to drive in true sports fashion (2ZZ-GE vehicles).

Six-speed stick shift for fuel economy

Through high gearing, a good cross gear ratio has been incorporated to connect first gear through fifth gear―with a sixth gear added to reduce noise and cut fuel consumption when operating at high speeds―maximizing the performance of the 2ZZ-GE engine in sports-like driving.

Superior suspension

The Celica employs L-arm McPherson strut suspension in the front and a new-developed double-wishbone suspension in the rear connected to the subframe by a hydroform construction method. This ensures optimal placement of the arms, and provides superior handling, stable operation, and a quality ride.

The sports grade SS-II is available with an optional super strut suspension for sports driving, stabilizing the vehicle during turns and when operating at high speeds. This was accomplished by reducing the moment of inertia around the kingpin axis and curbing changes in the camber angle.

Class-leading safety measures
Active safety

Building upon the Celica's stable operation and superior maneuverability, braking performance has been enhanced by distributing power to the front and rear in correspondence with various driving conditions (heavy loads, shifting loads, etc.). An Antilock Brake System (ABS) with EBD^* helps ensure vehicle stability even when braking during cornering.

High-mount tail-lights are located along the top of the rear window where they are most visible to following cars.

^*

Electronic Brake Force Distribution

Passive Safety

The Toyota Passive Safety Body (GOA) combines impact-absorbing structures and a high-integrity cabin. To protect persons inside the vehicle during collisions with heavier vehicles or at high speeds, the new Celica is designed to pass 64km/h 40% wrap-offset head-on collision tests, 55km/h full-wrap head-on collision tests, and 55km/h side collision tests.

The vehicle also includes impact-absorbing ribs in the pillars and roof side rails that offer interior safety equal to that outlined by U.S. head impact protection standards.

To firmly restrain drivers and passengers in their seat, front seat belts are equipped with pretensioners and force limiters on all versions, which reduce shock to the chest area during collisions. Dual SRS^*1 airbags are also a standard feature in all versions.

Front seats use a new seat structure incorporating WIL^*2 technology to reduce the shock to occupants' heads during rear-end collisions.

^*1: Supplemental Restraint System

^*2: Whiplash Injury Lessening

Multi-faceted environmental approaches
Cleaner emissions and reduced CO2

All vehicles conform to the new emissions standards due to go into effect from October 2000 (for vehicles subject to reduced automobile purchase taxes). HC and NOx levels have been reduced to levels satisfying the J-TLEV transition low emissions standards set out in the Environmental Agency's Low Vehicle Emissions Technical Guidelines, which call for a 25% reduction in the coming 2000 emissions standards.

Enhanced recyclability

Toyota's Super Olefin Polymer (TSOP) thermoplastic resin offers excellent recyclability and is used extensively throughout the vehicle, from the front and rear bumpers and the rocker molding to the instrument panel, pillar garnish and console box.

RSPP^* high-performance sound-proofing material recycled from the shredder residue from end-of-life vehicles is used in the dashboard silencer.

Toyota has made it easier to dismantle components such as wiring harnesses, seats, engine undercovers, and other components and to drain off engine oil, coolant and other fluids.

^*RSPP

Recycled Sound-Proofing Products

Reduced environmental impact

Only lead-free materials are used for parts such as radiators, heater cores, and wiring harness coverings.

Downloads (Images)

Celica SS-II
[GH-ZZT231BLFVF]