Toyota’s Heritage Rarities Boost Red Nose Day Fund-Raising
Two one-off Toyotas have found new homes with the lucky bidders in an online auction to raise funds for Red Nose Day. The fully kitted and liveried Gran Turismo-replica Supra and a Picnic MPV powered by a rally-bred Celica turbo engine were previously star cars in Toyota’s heritage press fleet.
When the hammer fell in the auction, hosted by Pistonheads, the Supra was secured by Mark Robinson, founder and managing director of the Vantage Motor Group. Vantage is one of Britain’s leading Toyota dealers, with 11 centres in the Midlands and north of England. The Supra will make an eye-catching addition to Vantage’s collection, with its full body kit and Castrol racing decals, matching the car featured in Sony’s original Gran Turismo computer game.
The auction for the Picnic was won by John Crisp, from Woodford Green in Essex. The compact MPV packs a rally-bred and tuned 2.0-litre turbo engine and comes with a bespoke red leather interior.
“My wife Nahide saw the car was up for auction and recommended I bid for it. It is a crazy concept and something really different,” said John, who is planning to use it for family trips, true to Picnic’s original purpose.
The auction formed part of Toyota’s fund-raising programme as an official partner to this year’s Red Nose Day. Together its UK businesses and its national dealer network brought in more than three quarters of a million pounds to support Comic Relief’s projects to transform people’s lives in the UK and Africa.
