When everyone’s favorite car nerd Doug DeMuro started his auction service Cars And Bids, we anticipated it to be different from the usual cars that we expect from other sites like Bring A Trailer or Radwood. We have to admit that even we didn’t predict some of the unique rides that would come across DeMuro’s digital auction block.

A wide variety of “quirky” cars have been listed and sold on Doug’s website, as well as some immaculate examples of coveted vehicles. That is why we tend to keep an eye on Cars and Bids every week to see what the new bargains are. However, this week something special caught our eye. A car that would make any JDM ultra-fan empty their wallets has graced the Cars and Bids platform.

History of the Toyota Celica GT-Four

In the early 1990s, Toyota did something that many manufacturers did; They built a car for the road to give them an excuse to make a car that they could race. Several racing series will not allow a vehicle to participate unless that car is based on a car that a customer can buy and drive on public roads. Naturally, manufacturers want to win races, which means they want to build capable race cars. Thus, to comply with rules, sometimes a brand will produce a limited run of a high-performance version of a car they already sell. Such vehicles are sometimes referred to as “homologation specials.” Aruably, one of the greatest homologation specials ever created was based on a Toyota Celica.

In the 90s, Toyota really wanted to race in the WRC (World Rally Championship), and they also really wanted to sell Celicas. The obvious decision was for Toyota to create an amazing, all-wheel drive, turbocharged Celica. It was dubbed the Celica GT-Four in Asia and Europe, but in North America (yes, Toyota actually sold it in America), it was known as the Celica All-Trac.

When the sixth-generation Toyota Celica was released in 1993, Toyota did not bring the GT-Four version to the American market. However, in 2018 it became legal to import the JDM Celica GT-Four to the U.S. Now, one is featured on Cars and Bids.

Cars & Bids auction: 1995 Toyota Celica GT-Four

While the Celica GT-Four has been legal to import to America for a few years, they are still a rarity to see on the street, much less for sale. That is why we were stopped in our tracks when we saw that a genuine right-hand-drive Celica GT-Four is currently for sale right now on Cars and Bids.

Celica GT-Four for sale is titled in Massachusetts and was imported to America in 2020. Its odometer shows 119,800 km, which is equal to 74,440 miles.

At the time of writing, this Celica GT-Four has a high bid of just $4,300 with one day left in the auction. We expect the final sale price to go much higher. Despite this Celica GT-Four not being in 100% stock condition, Toyota only produced 2,500 units of this car total, so its rarity is bound to impact its value positively.

Whoever wins this Celica GT-Four Cars and Bids auction is going to come away with quite the JDM hidden gem.