[Room Garage] Invasion, "Bull Head" Myth Toyota Celica GT-Four & Toyota Supra

As recorded in "Sun Tzu's Art of War and Military Struggle": "It is as fast as the wind, it is as slow as the forest, it invades like fire, it does not move like a mountain, it is difficult to know as cloud, and it moves like thunder." The heroes, as if they were the generals who rose up in the "Warring States Period" after the "Onin Rebellion" in the past, they regarded the brand as the "family emblem" and the engine as a "weapon". While waving it, it looks like a gust of wind, like a raging fire, ready to strike out with a thunderous posture, with only one ultimate goal... to dominate the world!

From half a century ago, with the "2000 GT", it knocked on the door of Dongying's performance car market, and once squeezed into the exclusive car of "007" intelligence agents in Japan (see the movie "You Only Live Twice", translated as "Thunder Valley" ), as a well-known car brand in the world, Toyota, whose market share often dominates countries in the world, has not only provided high-quality and low-cost popular cars for a long time, but also created many classic sports cars that are well-known and popular in the car industry. In the fiercely competitive race track, the figure of "Null Head" has not only never been absent, but more times has brought extraordinary kinetic energy output by relying on the delicate but bold craftsmanship of the craftsmen, and left an indelible The brilliant record of Celica GT-Four and Supra, two "true. God cars" in the mouth of senior car fans! It is the best testimony of Toyota's "Sport and Specialty" professional sports car class in the 1990s!

The name comes from "coelica" in Latin, which means "heavenly, mysterious", etc. It was published in February 1994, and the original factory produced a limited number of 2,500 units. The Toyota Celica GT-Four, code-named "ST205", It is Toyota's certification model that meets the lower limit specifications of commercially available vehicles participating in the WRC (World Rally Championship). As the first Japanese automaker to use "Turbo turbocharged engine + AWD full-time four-wheel drive" to enter the WRC competition, and surpassed Mitsubishi and Subaru and other compatriots to take the lead in winning the WRC team and driver's annual double championship, Toyota continued The car-making formula laid by the first two generations of ST165 and ST185 models makes the ST205 equipped with the factory proud . It is powered by a Yamaha engine (yes, it is the one that sold pianos and motorcycles in your impression, and then gave birth to "Hatsune Miku") That "Yamaha"!) The first generation and the name machine "3S-GTE" jointly developed, in the inline four-cylinder 2.0-liter DOHC dual camshaft engine body, plus the CT20b turbocharger with improved fuel injector and dual-channel structure With the help of a compressor, it can burst out a maximum horsepower of 255 horsepower (6000 rpm) and a maximum torque value of 31 kgm (4000 rpm), with AWD full-time four-wheel drive and a five-speed manual gearbox (model E154F, final With a transmission ratio of 4.285) and a vehicle weight of less than 1400 kg, it can easily accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 6.1 seconds, and the highest safe top speed is 245 km/h.

In terms of model appearance, the Celica ST205, which was designed by the "CALTY" design studio directly under Toyota in the United States, no longer uses the previous two generations to stir up topics. "Closed" (Pop-Up) headlights are replaced by four independent round lights with the same high degree of recognition. Even though this shape has mixed reviews, it was initially questioned by some diehard car fans that it lost the original Celica's unique aesthetic charm. , but the streamline and fashion presented while maintaining the same vehicle length (4420mm), on the contrary endow the new generation ST205 with a touch of elegance and romance similar to European purebred sports cars. Of course, the exclusive turbo engine air intake and cooling holes on the hood, the aerodynamic side skirts and large package, and the indispensable super-large spoiler with first-class visual effects properly remind the opponent of the hotness of its performance car identity!

"Invasion like fire", the annotation of Cao Cao, a generation of hero, is "Ji Ye", in other words, "Quick"! Celica GT-Four has won 28 WRC victories in just 5 years. As "Daguanzi" Li Quan said, "It's like a fire, and there is no grass left." The strong strength of Yamato Assassin on the track can be said to be Make it difficult for opponents to parry.

Maybe it was a joke from the Creator, or maybe it was the "scourge" deserved after unscrupulous means?

Just after the "Toyota Castrol Team" factory team won the French Rally Championship (Tour de Corse–Rallye de France) in May 1995 with the Celica GT-Four ST205 car, and completed the second consecutive championship in a handsome manner , when the venue of the competition came to the beautiful Catalonia region of the Mediterranean Sea (Spanish Rally Championship; WRC Rally de España), the staff of the FIA ​​International Automobile Union were conducting post-race inspections (one said that they had received a secret report) whether there was any ST205 car As is standard procedure for retrofitting any part that violates competition rules, the FIA ​​mechanics were surprised to find that…

The "restrictor plate" that was originally used to prevent racing vehicles from privately increasing the intake efficiency to increase power, which must be placed in front of the turbocharger according to the regulations, was actually in the ingenuity and research of the Toyota racing team. , with the traction of the disc spring mechanism, not only did not suppress the horsepower output, but added a special air intake space outside the turbocharger. In this way, the original intention of the FIA ​​design was a defensive shield, and now it is taking advantage of the trend The reversal has become a sharp weapon for active attack, and the "intake air restrictor" has been transformed into an "intake air booster"! It can also directly increase the intake air volume of the turbocharger by about 25%. In conversion, the ST205 can be increased by almost 50 horsepower! In a rally where every horsepower and even every screw must be considered, the difference of 50 horsepower is almost like the difference between "David" and "Goliath"!

Just like the secret hidden weapon in the hands of the Iga-ryu ninja was discovered, a small modified version of the "intake restrictor" in the upper section of the Celica ST205 racing car caused a storm of Toyota's suspected long-term cheating, which immediately shocked the car circles all over the world. The defeated automakers and drivers also began to question whether the various titles Toyota won in the past were based on real strength? Even though the "Toyota Castrol Team" factory team has repeatedly come forward to explain, claiming that this is a very stupid personal behavior of a few engineers , the French driver Didier Auriol even stated that he was completely ignorant, but with the FIA ​​president and former racing driver Max Mosley's words of praise and criticism:

"It`s the most ingenious thing I have seen in 30 years of motorsport."

Toyota's 120,000-point apology and regrets are useless. The FIA ​​executives quickly made a ruling. "Toyota Castrol Team" has won all the teams (originally ranked third) and driver points (originally ranked third) that year. Ranked 3rd, 4th, and 9th) were all confiscated , and the last stop of the year in November, the Wales Rally GB (Wales Rally GB) was also sentenced to a full "ban"! However, the anger of the FIA ​​seems to have not stopped. The board of directors believed that Toyota may have been maliciously deceived for many years. The next year, in 1996, in the whole season of 9 races, all the vehicles under the factory team of "Toyota Castrol Team" were not allowed to enter the field . Celica ST205 The only option to relegate to the race as an independent driver is one of the harshest sentences in modern motorsport history.

Perhaps readers will think, once the "hidden weapon" is removed, will the Celica ST205 be revealed?

In the 1996 WRC season, the ST205, which entered the field as an independent driver, won the championship heroically in the "Special 2L Series" (W2L Series) championships between Portugal and the United Kingdom. Well, it can be regarded as "to show innocence" to some extent, right?

As mentioned above, since Celica's car name is transformed from the Latin word "heavenly", if there is a sports car that is one level higher than Celica, shouldn't the original factory name it "There is a sky beyond the sky"?

Yes! That's right, there are people outside of humans, and there is heaven in the sky. We often use the word "superman" or "super" to describe it, which is "Super" in English, so if it is expressed in Latin...

SUPRA ...means supremacy, the performance brother of the "Bull Head" Toyota family, also known as the "Bull Demon King" by senior car fans! The agent in Hong Kong even uses the Chinese "超琴" as the translated name, which feels more appropriate!

The first two generations both debuted as the Celica flagship model, which demanded a large-displacement inline six-cylinder engine and high-horsepower output settings. The Supra, which was named "Celica XX" by the original factory, was launched at the "Detroit International Auto Show" in the United States in 1993. (Now renamed as "North American International Auto Show"; NAIAS) released the fourth generation, and the frame and chassis code-named A80.

With "The Sport Of Toyota" as the publicity slogan, Supra A80, which inherits the lineage of Toyota 2000 GT and symbolizes the new generation "3000 GT", adopts the chassis components of the two-door high-end sports car Soarer (that is, the Japanese version of LEXUS SC) , and divided into NA (Naturally Aspirated) and Turbo (Turbo) versions to cater to customers with different needs and budgets. The latter is equipped with a 3.0-liter inline 6-cylinder DOHC Twin-Turbo sequential twin-turbocharger named "2JZ-GTE" installed on the luxury executive coupe Aristo (that is, the LEXUS GS Japanese version) The engine unit has also joined the newly developed "ETCS" electronic throttle system, which can output 280 horsepower (6000 rpm, the upper limit of horsepower independently specified by various Japanese car manufacturers), and 44 kilograms of rice (later "VVTi" variable The introduction of valve timing technology has increased the torque to 46 kgm (3600 rpm) , supplemented by the "six-speed" jointly launched by Toyota and German transmission system manufacturer Getrag, which is the first to be seen in Japanese mass-produced cars With a manual gearbox, the front-engine, rear-wheel-drive Supra can accelerate from 0-100km/h in 5.6 seconds. The highest safe top speed is also limited by the self-discipline of Japanese automakers to avoid the ever-increasing traffic accident rate. The "gentlemen's agreement" can only reach 180km/h.

As an export version, the high-performance turbo Supra exported to North American and European markets is definitely not a vegetarian. After getting rid of the shackles of Japanese local laws and regulations, the turbocharger is replaced with steel blades (the Japanese market is made of ceramic material. ) and increase the size of the fuel injector, export overseas, release the "seal" Turbo Supra, the horsepower directly looks at 330 horsepower! The acceleration from 0-100km/h is even closer to the 4.6-second platform of the supercar class, and the highest safe top speed has also climbed to 285km/h! It can be regarded as playing the level that the "Bull Demon King" should have.

How to evaluate the data performance? Let's compare it with the "indicative opponent" of the same period: the 911 Turbo 3.3-liter model of the German Porsche 964 generation, which can release 320 horsepower, accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 5 seconds, and have a maximum safe top speed of 270 km/h h ; The new car price of 911 Turbo 3.3 in Germany is 190,250 marks, while Supra starts at 110,000 marks. They have similar performance, but there is a price difference of 80,000 marks between the two .

The earliest goal was to demand a speed of 300km/h. Isao Tsuzuki, who majored in fluid mechanics, was responsible for leading the entire new car development project. From the appearance, it can be seen that the Supra A80 is designed with sleekness and smoothness as the main axis. The car length is 4 meters 52 (about 5.5 cm shorter than Prius), the car width is 1 meter 81 (about 3.5 cm wider than Altis), the car height is less than 1 meter 28 (about 4.5 cm lower than AE 86) , in addition to creating the style of the top GT flagship sports car, the large active front air dam and rear spoiler also show their insistence on performance, although some overseas media editors jokingly call it "failure to lose weight" . Ferrari F40 (laughs!),

But it is undeniable that, compared with the gentle appearance of the previous generation A70, the Supra A80 has got rid of the "Guaiguai" style and looks more domineering and unique. The combination of piston caliper brake assembly and LSD limited-slip differential not only makes the reputation of "Bull Demon King" resound in the sky, but also the endless kinetic energy makes A80 win the title of contemporary "King of Linear Acceleration".

After admiring the bodies of Smooth and Sexy, we then opened the door, and what we saw was the driver-oriented cockpit with a strong sense of combat, especially the oncoming one, the arrangement of the instrument panel with the tachometer in the center and the speedometer on the side It is a reversal of Toyota's long-term image of "a special car for Mr. Good" . And the center console, which is similar to a single-seater racing car, is convenient and handy, reminding you to focus on the design of the road ahead, and constantly teasing the car owner's body that is already full of blood!

Also because the "2JZ-GTE" engine body is a combination of cast iron and aluminum cylinder head, compared with the all-alloy cylinder structure, although it seems to be slightly heavier, it is more powerful in terms of high temperature resistance, wear resistance and vibration suppression. It is excellent, and under the design of the "square cylinder" (bore bore and stroke are 86mm), both horsepower and torque can achieve the most balanced output, and the oil cooling device can keep the twin-turbo engine running at a relatively stable On the platform, in order to pursue "hot blood" and "one worship", car owners only need to adjust the boost value and rewrite the ECU car computer to easily obtain about 100 more horsepower!

However, if you are a professional player with a "heavy salty taste" and feel that this mere 100 horsepower is not satisfactory, you only need to modify the fuel supply and delivery conditions again, strengthen the intake and exhaust system, and match a turbocharger with a higher air volume Compressor, not only can reach 500 horsepower, but it is not an impossible task to squeeze out thousands of horsepower, or even 2000 horsepower output of kinetic energy! In addition, Toyota's quality control has always been excellent, and its durability and correctness rate are also obvious to all in the market. Therefore, even if the Supra A80 has been discontinued for nearly two decades, the new generation of GR Supra A90, jointly produced by Toyota and BMW, has been officially launched in January 2019. However, the A80 produced in the 1990s still wins unanimous praise from the modification industry. In the European and American second-hand car market, there is even a Supra that is more than 20 years old, and its second-hand residual value rate is as high as 92%. This shows that the status of the Supra A80 is really indelible!

Readers with good eyesight should be able to see that this is a British "Rolls-Royce" (Rolls-Royce) luxury flagship saloon Phantom with the hood lifted, but have you found any "bright spots" ...

Huh? No way! Hehe, yes, a certain car owner brother from Tokyo transplanted the Supra's "2JZ-GTE" twin-turbo engine to his Phantom, and transformed it into a crazy...crazy...crazy...crazy... with 900 horsepower output Sports car... It can only be described as "Lost in Translation".

By the way, in the first episode of the movie "Fast and Furious", the actor Paul Walker (Paul Walker) drove on the road, and he quickly "busted" the orange explosive modification of the Ferrari F355 supercar. Body Supra, in the 2015 American Mecum Auctions classic car auction marked a high price of 185,000 US dollars.

There is no other reason, "Bull Demon King".

end:

Since this is the third chapter of the "Fenglin Volcano" series, there is wind, forest and fire, which means there are still "mountains" waiting to appear.

"Standing still like a mountain" and waiting to attack is the highest state of tactics and strategy, as it is said in the chapter "Xunzi Yibing": "If you live round and upright, you will be as solid as a rock, and those who touch it will be destroyed by its horns." The reason why the "wolf in sheep's clothing" frightens many experts is not to take the initiative to attack, but to endure inexplicable provocations, "make a decision before moving",

The "mountain" one, with its almost disproportionate appearance and performance, later really became one of the special police cars for national highways that the Japanese police love to use!