Put Down Your Toy Yoda, Help Find This Toyota [Stuff]

The 1977 Star Wars Toyota Celica is one of the most sought-after cars in the world, and almost everything about it is a mystery. Actual pictures of it are scarce, and there isn’t even a record of the VIN number. The car was a prize in a contest in 1977, and hasn’t been seen since it was awarded to a lucky winner whose identity remains a mystery. But you can help find it.

The year was 1977, just a few months after the premiere of Star Wars, and Twentieth Century Fox partnered with Wonderbread to sponsor a contest called the Star Wars Space Fantasy Sweepstakes. A Toyoya Celica GT liftback pace car was customized as the grand prize for a sweepstakes. The Celica was the first of what would be a tradition of customized Star Wars cars, and it was a beauty. Designed by John Sladek at Delphi Auto Design in Costa Mesa, California, the Celica was customized with new components like a front air dam, fender flairs, a rear spoiler, and a moonroof. But the paint job was what made it special – three-dimensional paintings of TIE fighters and X-Wings battling along the sides, and the original Star Wars poster airbrushed on the hood.

The sweepstakes had a winner, who claimed his or her prize…and disappeared. Part of the problem is that Delphi Auto Design went through some legal troubles, and apparently the records on the car’s VIN or the winner were lost. Over the years, auto enthusiast Pete Vilmur has made the Star Wars Celica his white whale, and followed every lead to try to find the car. So far, nothing. In fact, we’ve got a bad feeling about this…no one knows if the car even still exists or if it was scrapped for parts. Vilmur holds out hope, and has made a call to the Star Wars community to find it.

References:

Automotive Discovery

The Official Star Wars Blog

Relics of the Outer Rim

Have you seen this car? Wouldn’t this be an awesome car to own?