Hyundai Tiburon turns into Toyota Celica WRC copycat

The Toyota Celica GT-Four rally car has one of the most iconic liveries in motor racing history, inspiring legions of fans to pay tribute to their own cars with Castrol livery. However, the Castrol livery doesn’t appear to be exclusive to Toyota, as evidenced by the modern Coupe (Tiburon) wearing the iconic green and red.

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This fashion faux pas is called Tojota Celika and is the brainchild of Adam Rejl from the Czech Republic. Adam is clearly an ambitious man, as he assembled this masterpiece for the GumBalkan Rally – a ragtag gathering for junk cars with a budget of no more than €1,000 ($1,110).

MORE: The humble Hyundai Tiburon morphs into a BMW coupe

It all started with the 2001 Hyundai Coupe, a rebadged version of the first-generation Tiburon. This older Hyundai coupe was similar in styling and proportions to the Toyota Celica, making it a suitable donor car.

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Adam gave the classic car a fresh coat of paint and spray-painted those curvy red and green graphics. He didn’t stop there; he applied custom stickers—Tojota, Celika, and Kastrol—to really create the feel of a knockoff. The body was left mostly original, save for those DIY fenders nailed on the back, adding just the right touch of class to the “race car.” A roof box went on top, providing much-needed practicality and turning this coupe into something akin to a rallycross race car.

To mimic the raised stance of a rally car, the owner stuffed a bunch of tennis balls into the springs, achieving a whopping 2 inches (5 cm) of lift. The setup, affectionately known in the Balkans as the “Wimbledon suit,” reportedly gives the car a pleasant “bumpy ride.”

The only legal modifications to this modern Toyota-inspired car were a new set of grippier tires and two spare wheels mounted on the rear deck. It also received some underbody protection to withstand the harsh conditions of the GumBalkan Rally and make it to the finish line.

MORE: This rare Toyota Celica GT-Four RC could be the perfect restoration project

Under the hood is the original naturally aspirated 1.6-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine with an output of 111 hp (83 kW / 113 PS). Power is sent to the front wheels via a five-speed manual transmission, as modern Coupe/Tiburon never had all-wheel drive. Joking aside, this economy coupe has already covered 245,000 kilometers (152,200 miles), proving its durability. The “Turbo” lettering on the hood? Purely a whim of the owner.

In addition to his tastefully modified modern coupe, Adam also owns a 2020 Nissan 370Z Nismo and a 1984 Porsche 944. You can follow his adventures on his Instagram profile.

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Photo: Adam Rejl