1977: Second Selica
It was 1977, adn the Toyota Celica would be completely redesigned for the 1978 model year. The new Celica would be introduced in Japan early summer 1977, with American introduction in the fall.
Reportedly, only one Celica bodystyle would be offered, a hatchback (liftback) coupe. A large percentage of the preliminary design work was done by Calty Industrial Design, Toyota’s U.S.-based design studio. While the Celica shed its Mustang-esque styling, it was still identifiable as a Celica. One welcome change was the added visibility made possible by a huge increase in the car’s glass area. Rear 3/4 vision, specifically, was greatly improved.
Among the more important developments was the rumored independent rear suspension for the Celica GT, along with an all-new 6-cylinder engine option. The independent rear was said to come from the Corona Mark II upper range models. This IRS system was a semi-trailing arm design which was similar to the one used in the Datsun 810. Coil springs were used all around. If the IRS was used, it would be reserved for the GT, with the baseline ST models making use of a refined version of the 4-link live axle used on the previous Celica.
While the base engine would continue to be the 22-liter inline four shared with the Corona and the pickup, it was also believed that a new six would supplement the four, and this was speculated to be a 60-degree V-6, borne out by the low hoodline of the upcoming Celica.
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