Featured on AutoHunter, the online auction platform driven by ClassicCars.com, is this JDM 1995 Toyota Celica.
How well do you think you would do with driving from the right side of a vehicle? The cabin in such a car becomes a sort of mirror image, with a few exceptions: The arrangement of the clutch (if applicable), brake, and gas pedals remain the same as in a left-hand-drive car. Certain controls, however, are reversed from where you would customarily find them. For one thing, the turn-signal stalk on a JDM (or Japanese Domestic Market) car is located on the right side of the wheel, and the windshield wiper controls are on the left.
While you are trying to wrap your head around manipulating some of that switchgear, let’s look at today’s feature car. It is a 62,000-mile imported hatchback fresh from Japan. This Alpine Silver Metallic import is being sold by a dealership in Freeport, Texas and is offered at no reserve. The window of opportunity to bid on this rare car concludes tomorrow.
The Celica model was born in 1970 as a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive car that was based on a platform shared with the Toyota Carina sedan. Many engineering changes took place over the next two decades, and by the debut of the sixth generation (which was dubbed the T200) in 1993, the car was positioned as a front-wheel drive (or all-wheel-drive) compact in coupe, liftback/hatchback, or ASC-built convertible variants.
Today’s car is a liftback that looks to remain unmodified from the factory – right down to the 14-inch steel wheels with Toyota-branded hubcaps. The body shows a few bruises, but we have to remind ourselves that this car is nearly 30 years old and also recently traveled around the world on transport carriers. It would make a prime candidate for restoration or for driving as-is.
Power comes from a 3S-FE 2.0-liter inline-four mated to a four-speed automatic transaxle. The odometer reads 100,146 kilometers, which comes out to 62,227 miles. While there is no CARFAX available due to the imported nature of the vehicle, the selling dealer asserts that the mileage is actual.
Some enthusiast circles consider this car the “baby Supra.” Indeed, the very first Supra was actually built on the Celica platform. This car offers a unique opportunity to own something that will turn heads at the local cars & coffee. That is, if you can re-wire your brain to master those reversed controls.
The auction for this JDM 1995 Toyota Celica ends Friday, November 17, 2023, at 1:30 p.m. (MST)
Visit the AutoHunter listing for more information and photo gallery
Source: www.classiccars.com