Toyota has a wealthy historical past of manufacturing sports activities automobiles which have captured the hearts and imaginations of drivers and automobile lovers world wide. Who are the folks behind a number of the hottest designs? The Calty Design Research group is the mastermind answerable for turning unimaginable ideas into actuality.

From the enduring Toyota Celica in 1978 to the groundbreaking 1989 Toyota MR2, the Calty group labored fervently to create autos that pushed the boundaries of automotive design and efficiency that may cement Toyota’s popularity as a pacesetter on the planet of sports activities automobiles.

Take a visit down reminiscence lane with this slideshow that includes a few of Calty’s most noteworthy sports activities automobile tasks from the Nineteen Seventies by means of the Eighties.

1975 Sports Car Concept
Toyota’s 1975 Sports Concept Design at Calty was a groundbreaking undertaking that showcased the corporate’s dedication to innovation and design. There had been a number of sporting research that included a hatchback, a taking pictures brake and a pure sports activities automobile. The ideas represented a daring imaginative and prescient for the way forward for automotive design. Its affect can nonetheless be seen in in the present day’s Toyota fashions, which proceed to drive mobility ahead.

1978 Toyota Celica
The 1978 Toyota Celica is a basic sports activities automobile that has stood the check of time. With its modern design and highly effective engine, it was a preferred selection for customers and automobile lovers within the late Nineteen Seventies. The Celica’s distinctive styling and dependable efficiency made it a standout amongst different automobiles of its period. In truth, it was Toyota’s best-selling American mannequin with greater than 167,000 models bought in its first yr. Even in the present day, it stays a sought-after mannequin for collectors and classic automobile lovers alike. Plus, it was the Calty group’s first production-car design.

1985 FXV Concept
In the Eighties, Toyota’s Calty studio revolutionized the corporate’s luxurious coupes with a brand new design strategy that resulted within the creation of the game-changing Future Experimental Vehicle (FXV) Concept automobile. Unveiled on the 1985 Tokyo Motor Show, it had a modern, aerodynamic physique with superior options together with a multi-information system. The automobile’s general type was based mostly on a easy, visually balanced, three-dimensional trapezoid fused with a modern and unified class cover.

1980 ESX Concept
Paving the way in which for future environmentally delicate autos, the ESX was a real trailblazer. For starters, the title stood for Eco Sports Experimental. It was Calty’s tackle an reasonably priced, enjoyable, and environment friendly sports activities automobile.

The ESX Concept Phase 2 was an evolution of the unique examine with a extra refined inside and exterior design. The fiberglass bolstered plastic (FRP) mannequin featured an revolutionary gull-wing door system that added to its futuristic enchantment.

Eighties Toyota MR2+2 Concept
Developed within the Eighties, this purely experimental design was based mostly on the favored MR2 sports activities automobile however adopted a mid-engine structure with the cabin pushed ahead to the restrict. As one in every of Calty’s many sports activities/sporty automobile proposals, the MR2+2 Concept really appeared like a sports activities automobile meant for the longer term with its barely seen A-pillars and fighter jet-like cockpit.

Eighties MX-1 Mid-Engine High Performance Sports Car Concept
Calty drew inspiration from its earlier sports activities automobile lineup proposal to create a premium mid-engine halo sports activities automobile idea that may elevate Toyota’s expertise and model. The undertaking was a real group effort, from sketching to the creation of a full-size mannequin in-house at Calty. The automobile’s modern wedge-shaped profile highlighted glorious aerodynamics and futuristic design qualities, together with a robust mid-placed engine and scissor-style doorways.

1985 MX-2 Mid-Engine High Performance Race Car/Sports Car
In 1985, Calty designers created the MX-2 as a radical sequel to the MX-1. The teardrop-shape exterior was optimized for aerodynamic efficiency, and the minimalist inside was functionally designed for racing. The mid-engine race automobile idea had gull-wing doorways and an adjustable steering-wheel pod for right- or left-hand-drive functionality. Although neither the MX-1 nor MX-2 made it to manufacturing, the mid-engine Toyota sports activities automobile MR2 was simply starting to make waves on the world sports activities automobile scene round this time.

1989 Toyota Celica
Calty utilized the newly found design strategy of ceramic clay for a complicated proposal of the fifth-generation Celica. The design group experimented with this new technique, creating quite a few small-scale 3D fashions manufactured from ceramic clay.

Finished ceramic clay research had been forged into laborious plaster fashions and evaluated beneath the California solar to outline shapes with daring gentle and darkish shadows. These research impressed the fifth-generation Celica’s type language, which was utilized by designers in Japan to create the ultimate design launched in 1989.

1989 MR2 Advanced Concept
In the Eighties, Toyota launched the MR2, a beloved sports activities automobile with a mid-engine/rear-wheel-drive structure, marking the corporate’s first mid-engine manufacturing automobile. The press raved about its immediate enchantment, performance, excessive efficiency, and reliability. Calty proposed a number of designs for the second-generation model of the automobile, which was launched in 1989.