May the 4th be with you: missing Star Wars Toyota Celica GT

4 May, 2017

 


 

Major motion pictures, custom car giveaways, scandal, and a missing Toyota

 


 

May 4th each year marks the unofficial Star Wars holiday — if you don’t understand the reference after reading the title, then this article probably isn’t going to be for you.

It’s only fitting then, we take a huge leap back to 1977 when a little film called Star Wars was released and the company producing it, 20th Century Fox, joined forces — see what we did there — with Toyota to customize and give away a ‘77 Star Wars Toyota Celica GT.

The GT was a grand prize in a Star Wars Space Fantasy Sweepstakes, described as being prepared by Delphi Auto Design of Costa Mesa, California, and featured “a specialized [Star Wars] paint job, a moonroof, tinted windows, and block chrome on the outside, along with plush silver carpeting and silver piping on the seats inside.”

Oddly information surrounding the sweepstakes origins are scarce, perhaps due to the loose management of such undertakings in the era, however we do know that four companies were involved: 20th Century Fox, Molly Designs, Delphi Auto Designs, and Mardan-Kane Inc. 

Once completed, it’s alleged that the car was  delivered to 20th Century Fox and by the end of the sweepstakes, it was allegedly delivered to the anonymous contest winner in January 1978. We say allegedly, as this is the last time the car was seen for many, many years, and the company that had built it would soon go out of business — the owner of Delphi was convicted of smuggling hash oil, while one employee was kidnapped, and another, Steve Bovan, was murdered. Some suggest, as the conspiracy goes, that the Celica got caught up in the mess and was never delivered to the winner.

This would tie in well with the fact that there was never an official winner announcement and any further publicizing put on the back-burner — not surprising, considering a company like 20th Century Fox wouldn’t want to be associated with drugs, kidnapping, and murder 

On a lighter note, LucasFilm employee Steve Sansweet — who now runs a museum with the world’s biggest collection of Star Wars memorabilia — saw it in a magazine for sale some 20 years later. He said of the discovery: “Sometime around the late 1980’s or early 1990’s I was reading my monthly issue of Antique Toy World when my eye was drawn to a small black and white ad at the bottom of a page. There it was, the Star Wars Toyota, being offered up for sale by the original owner, who said it was in great shape. Here’s the killer: the asking price was just $1,000. I remember being transfixed and started thinking how I could possibly buy this primo piece of promo history.”

However, for whatever reason, Sansweet didn’t jump on the Celica, and that was the last known sighting to date. 

We wonder what corner of the earth it’s tucked away in now ….

NZ Classic Car magazine, July August 2025 issue 400, on sale now

Good for the soul, a dose of Hemi Orange – Chrysler’s champion Charger
The Australian-developed Chrysler Charger was a game changer for the company in 1971, as it faced a faltering start introducing its new VH range. The stylish big coupe signalled a massive change of direction and emphasis for Chrysler.
Auckland racing driver Rod Coppins raced successfully in Australia and New Zealand. Rod found success behind the wheel of a couple of Chargers, and it is a special E49 R/T in the custody of Mike Todd for some years, that is our feature car.
A full restoration of this car has been completed at Auto Restorations (AR) in Christchurch. We recently sampled the car, ready to be shipped back to Mike and spoke to AR’s Harry Dawber, leading the team who completed the superb restoration of this rare piece of NZ motor racing history.
I mentioned that Chrysler Chargers were never built to this standard as we walked around the gleaming Charger in its Hemi Orange colour scheme.
“We took a lot of time getting those shut lines exactly right. It’s been a great car to work on, and the paint and trim have been very well done by the team here.”

Britannia rules the roads – Royal Tour Cars – part 2

Royal rollers and fancy Fords
Ford Zodiacs had transported the Queen Mother during her tour in 1958 but five years on, their glitz had perhaps faded a bit too much for an actual monarch. As there was no longer a convertible version of Britain’s Zephyr or Zodiac on offer, Ford looked to their American arm for a replacement, finding it in the huge Ford Galaxie. The Public Service Garage purchased the car at around £3000 for royal tour work and VIP transport.