Back in 1977, when Star Wars was not yet still the cultural juggernaut it is today, Toyota and Fox partnered up to giveaway a brand new Star Wars themed Toyota Celica liftback. Would love to see this car cruising down the road with this Vader at the wheel 3PO at his side and Artoo in the back.
Why is Threepio looking under the hood? The transmission speaks only Bocce.
1977 Star Wars Celica GT Liftback on Flickr [via] Global Thermonuclear War
drquest: I use to work at a Bugles Boys store back when malls were all the rage.
Drahken: Yeah, that’s the one. Man, it’s been a long time since I saw one of those. I had completely...
Doug: @Drahken, you mean this?: http://www.ebay.com/ itm/Vintage-Pac-Man- Wind-Up-Plastic-Toy- Tomy-1980s-/16072...
Peter FoxHusky: Dar, no monitor but a color TV for both the C64 and for just watching television. Drahken: Dunno about the toys, I never had any. The commercials made them look good, but they also look like a lot...
ClaymationWerewolf: @Doug that’s really funny! When I watched the episode I actually did wonder if I was... Drahken: I vaguely remember sky commanders, though I never watched it at the time, I mostly just remember the ads...
Daniel Th1rte3n: Another excellent piece! I was aware of this property as a kid, but never owned any of the toys,... Doug: Yeah, there were toys. I had one. Were the Aussy and Jamaican bad guys? The way you describe them and the...
vinvectrex: This one near the top of my list of toys I wanted but never got. And, had I gotten it, I wouldn’t...
That is a fine looking vehicle.
We need to find out where it is today…I hope it’s still around!!
A very good find.
“A very good find” is, I hope referring to the photograph. To find THIS CAR would be like finding a Holy Grail.
Apparently the hunt is on and several websites are trying to track down the current owner of the car.
http://www.autoblog.com/2011/10/01/the-hunt-is-on-for-an-official-1977-star-wars-toyota-celica/
I cannot help but think that if this was out there on the road, someone would have posted pics at some point in the last decade. My guess is the car is dead and gone, but it would still be interesting to track down the winner.
@ The Retroist: i’m inclined to agree, but I’m holding out hope!
Can you imagine what that car would bring at auction if it we’re fully restored? I hope someone finds it but agree with Retroist… It probably was scrapped years ago.
Even if it is scrapped, maybe all this attention the car is getting will drive some car buff to duplicate the car or at least bring forward the people who might have worked on customizing it.