The original Celica was Toyota’s first sports car that was available to the US market as well as one of the first sports cars offered on a global scale.
Jay Leno takes a look at an immaculate example of a first generation Toyota Celica, lent by Toyota USA Museum. Back in the day, the Celica was considered Toyota’s first try in offering a sportier model, kind of an answer to pony cars of the era like the Mustang and the Camaro.
Of course having a 1.9-litre engine meant that it lacked the straight-line performance of the aforementioned pony cars but the balanced handling character and the elegant period styling of the original Celica make it one of the great Japanese classics.
Enjoy the video.