It competed in the German series in 1977 and 1978. Plagued by reliability problems, it managed to finish twice and win a non-championship race. At the end of its European career, it went on to compete in Japan.
Throughout its competitive seasons, it was the only non-German car to compete in the top division of the German series.
The A20 Celica was built to compete against the Porsche 935s that had dominated international motorsport and also the Division 1 of the German DRM series for Group 5 cars. It was based on the 3-door liftback first generation Toyota Celica 2000 GT.[3]
As with all Group 5 cars, the Celica received extensive modifications to the bodywork, which was re-styled and built from lightweight fiberglass. Only the hood, roof, doors and rail panel were retained from the stock model.[3] The Celica's distinctive features are its wider body sills in front of and behind the door panel and sloping nose beyond the bonnet, which encases the double headlamps and square grille
To keep up with its competitions, Schnitzer used the Toyota 18R-G engine from its production model with a specially designed 16 valve cylinder head and a Kugelfischer fuel injection system topped up with a KKK turbocharger.[3] The engine produced a total output of 560 hp (418 kW) from its bored 2,090 cc (127.5 cu in) engine.[3]
Partway through the 1978 season, as the Celica color scheme was changed from blue to red and white, revisions were also made to its bodywork to improve its aerodynamics.
Aside being factory supported, sponsorship was provided by optical manufacturer
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