The 2010 Goodwood Festival of Speed will included a mouth-watering array of Toyota machinery from over twenty years of WRC cars to some on of the most recent and powerful chapters of Toyota's racing history.
The treat for rally fans will include the 1980s “King of Africa” 380hp Celica Twin Cam TA64 Group B car, the Corolla WRC that took 25 podiums between 1997 and 1999. However, arguably the highlight will be the Celica ST185 which was driven by legends including Carlos Sainz, Juha Kankkunen and Didier Auriol for a golden period between 1992 and 1994 which included taking the company's first manufacturer title in 1993 taking seven rally victories in the process.
The Celica name, of course, continues to this day and the car's modern iteration – the Toyota Sprint Series Celica GT4. Drivers Jonny Milner and Adrian Smith will be attempting to set the fastest hillclimb time of the weekend in the 600hp car (which also has the added boost of a nitrous oxide kick providing 150 additional horsepower).
Not that even that will make it the most powerful Toyota at Goodwood thanks to the efforts of Javier Quiros in bringing an all-conquering, and frankly rather frightening sounding, 900hp Supra GT, to Surrey for the Festival of Speed.
From Costa Rica.
Also present will be the Lexus LFA of Gazoo Racing that scored Lexus' first ever class at the Nurburgring 24 Hours in May, which will appear with its road going counterpart.
Toyota's involvement at the Festival of Speed extends to a pair of static pavilions showcasing the technology and innovation. That includes the 1999 GT One Le Mans 24 Hours challenger, and the Polar Hilux that became the first car ever to be driven to the magnetic North Pole at the hands of TVs Top Gear team.
The Technology Pavillion will house the UK debut of the Lexus CT 200h, the car that embodies the latest in Lexus' hybrid technology, ahead of it launch into the market in early 2011.
Visitors will also be the first in the UK to see the FT-86 concept, Toyota's vision for a new, compact rear-wheel drive sports car. Aygo Crazy and Gazoo Racing's eye-catching take on iQ demonstrate that being small is no barrier to performance, while the new Auris Hybrid will fly the flag for British manufacturing excellence.
