SOLD - 1998 Toyota Caldina GT-T

Why did Toyota stop doing this?

256 Turbo horses, 5 speed manual, and all mechanical AWD, tucked neatly under the frame of a sporty and practical design make this a winning combo in our book. Want the rally-stage designed drivetrain that was so good that Toyota was banned from racing in 1996? Want the most powerful version of the engine that equipped the 2nd Gen Toyota MR2 Turbo, marking that car with a reputation as the 'widow-maker'? Want it all packaged in a car you can fit your kids/dogs/friends (pick one) and enough gear for a camping trip in the back? Then this is the car for you.

Subaru enthusiasts laud the Outback, the WRX wagon, even the STI, as kings of the snowy backroads, muddy rally stages, and roads less traveled, but the ST215 Caldina is the prodigal son Celica All-Trac returned to the off-road trails of North America, to reclaim it's rightful place at the top of the dirt-road hierarchy. Featuring the fully-mechanical, viscous coupling all-wheel drive system known as Toyota 'All-Trac', the grabby and confidence inspiring nature of the Celica drivetrain boosts the Caldina's character to a level of that of a professional athlete, who's decided to take up back-country hiking with the kids in their free time. Distributing power front and rear at an even 50/50 split, this system is just as effective for putting down power on the tarmac as it is for keeping you safely cruising the highway in case of inclement weather.

This particular Caldina GT-T is a lighter model slick-top, foregoing the optional retractable sunroof common on the GT-T in exchange for nearly 200 pounds of weight savings. At just over 2900 pounds, this little wagon is more nimble than it's body might first suggest. Capable of 0-60 acceleration in under 6.4 seconds, making this car faster than the same year Honda Integra Type R and Mitsubishi Eclipse GS-T!

The 3S-GTE is one of the most impressive powerplants that Toyota ever produced. In typical Toyota fashion, this little 2.0L was overbuilt, as it was intended to be used primarily in the most grueling of motorsports of the 80's and 90's: rally racing. Featuring oil squirters to cool the aluminum-alloy pistons, a ceramic-bearing turbocharger and nitrided steel valves, the 3S-GTE in the ST215 Caldina proved to be the penultimate form of the 3S series of motors, superseded only by the infamous 3S-GTM, developed for IMSA GTP racing, pushing 800 horsepower on the stock 3S block! While this street version only produces 256 horsepower, reliability was still at the forefront of Toyota's mind. What reasonable person would want an unreliable station wagon, after all? The aluminum pistons in the engine are dimpled, meaning that in the event of a timing belt failure, the interference nature of this particular engine does not result in pistons colliding with valves, as would typically happen on an interference-design engine. Of course, as this Caldina has just had a timing belt service completed, this is not a fact you'll soon have to verify with experience!

On the topic of maintenance, this machine has remarkably low miles, at only ~83k kilometers (~52k miles); and all major maintenance items have been addressed, ensuring that the next owner will have many trouble-free miles ahead in typical Toyota fashion.

The interior on this car is peak 90's, with a wonderful microfiber center pattern evoking nostalgia for the time when GameBoy and PlayStation were the item's topping everyone's Christmas list. Everything shows very well, due to the low-mileage nature of the car. Minor wear is present in certain areas, but Toyota thought ahead when they chose to only use matte and textured plastics on the interior, meaning that today, nearly 30 years later, you can sit in the seats and imagine that Y2K is still a looming unknown wonder of tech-forward optimism and neon lights.

• 1998 Toyota Caldina GT-T
• 52,000 miles (83k KM)
• 2.0L 3S-GTE 4th Gen, 256 hp
• All-Wheel Drive
• 5 Speed Manual
• Air Conditioning
• Stock and Completely original
• Recent Timing Belt Service
• Right Hand Drive
• Clean Florida Title