Mighty Toyota Celica Turbo GTO and Chaparral 1 headed for auction ...

With auctions in Scottsdale, Arizona in less than a fortnight and three major sales in Paris early in February, it promises to be a very busy month. In the coming weeks, we plan to feature many of the highlights that will cross the block on both sides of the Atlantic.
Today we kick off with two very spectacular racing cars that will be offered by RM Auctions in Scottsdale on January 16th and 17th. The rarest of the two is the Toyota Celica Turbo GTO built for the Japanese manufacturer by Dan Gurney's All American Racer. It uses a purpose-built spaceframe chassis and a 450 bhp turbocharged Toyota engine. After some teething problems, the car came good in 1987 when Chris Cord won the drivers championship and the team clinched the manufacturers trophy. Only three were built, one of which was sold to Cord in 1989. This car is in the RM Auctions sale with a modest estimate of $100,000 - $150,000. Our 20-shot gallery includes images of two different examples, including the one that is due to cross the block in Scottsdale.
Built for Jim Hall by Troutman-Barnes in 1961, the Chaparral 1 Chevrolet is one of the very last front-engined sports cars built. The compact and lightweight machine was nevertheless raced with considerable success by Hall himself and also by privateers in customer cars. It holds the distinction as being the first ever Chaparral and today the five examples are highly sought after and only very rarely come to the market. The example on offer is one of the two works cars, which won its class in the 1962 Sebring 12 Hours. In more recent years, it has been campaigned with considerable success by its current owner. Our 37-shot gallery also includes images of the other four cars built.

Enjoy the links:

[url="http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/2433/Chaparral-1-Chevrolet.html"]1961 - 1963 Chaparral 1 Chevrolet - Images, Specifications and Information[/url]

[url="http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/5746/Toyota-Celica-Turbo-GTO.html"]1986 - 1988 Toyota Celica Turbo GTO - Images, Specifications and Information[/url]