Full-restoration projects are always exciting, especially if the original condition of the subject car was pretty rough. More importantly, the project feels more special if the car has a historical value – in this case, the car being restored is a championship-winning rally car driven by one of the legendary drivers in the Middle East.
Featured by Hand Built Cars on YouTube, the car in question is a 1984 Toyota Celica Turbo TC35 Group B Rally Car. According to the video’s description, this TC35 is the one driven by the current FIA president Mohammed Bin Sulayem, who won the Middle East Rally Championship from 1986 to 1988.
The video above is a slide show of the pictures that documents the restoration project. It’s nearly an hour long but seeing the progress photo by photo is surely worth your time if you’re a motorsports fan.
The work was done by Makela Auto-Tuning from Finland, and this particular Celica was one of the two rally cars restored by the shop. The other one was Team Europe TC15 which joined the 1985 Hong Kong-Beijing Rally.
The Celica Turbo TC35 was a legendary rally car that was introduced in 1984 by Toyota to compete in the Group B category of the World Rally Championship. This high-performance sports car was built to take on the challenging and demanding conditions of rallying, and it proved to be a formidable competitor during its time.
The body of the Celica Turbo TC35 was designed for aerodynamic efficiency, with a large rear wing, a front splitter, and a vented hood. The car also featured wide fenders and flared wheel arches to accommodate the wider wheels and tires necessary for rallying.
In terms of its performance, the Celica Turbo TC35 was a force to be reckoned with. The car was able to win the 1985 Safari Rally in Kenya, which was considered one of the toughest rallies in the world. It also achieved success in the European Rally Championship and, as mentioned, the Middle East Rally Championship.
