Maybe, maybe not. What's clear is that Celica deliberately mixes round organic shapes with sheer and angular ones. The contrasts aren't necessarily clean or elegant, but they are dramatic and by no means ugly. Celica's striking headlights make it look expensive. It's a fairly large, bold step by Toyota's usual conservative, edgeless styling standards.
Under the hood, Celica offers a choice of two all-aluminum inline four-cylinder engines. While both displace 1.8 liters, each has its own block and bore and stroke measurements. With twin cams and four valves per cylinder, the base GT engine makes a respectable 140 horsepower and 125 foot-pounds of torque, both at 6400 rpm.
The GT-S inline-4 was developed jointly with Yamaha, which also does final engine assembly, and it employs a number of high-tech tweaks. It's the first Toyota-badged engine in North America with variable valve timing, lift and duration (called VVTL-i). For the buyer, that means higher revs, better engine breathing and more horsepower for the engine's size. The GT-S powerplant is one of a few non-turbocharged production engines that boast 100 horsepower per liter of displacement. With its high 11.5:1 compression, it produces 180 horsepower at 7600 rpm and 133 foot-pounds of torque at 6600 rpm.
The Celica GT comes standard with a five-speed manual transmission. The GT-S gets a six-speed. The GT-S is also available with the E-Shift semi-automatic shift program from the hot Lexus GS 430 sports sedan. This optional four-speed automatic can be shifted manually via buttons on the steering wheel spokes. Next Page