Skip advert
Advertisement
Features

Toyota 222D – dead on arrival

This 750bhp rallying MR2 could have seen Toyota conquer the stages, but instead fate intervened

Group B rallying of the early ’80s had been a mixed bag for Toyota. Its Celica Twin Cam Turbo had scored wins on endurance events like the Safari Rally, where toughness and relative simplicity paid dividends, but in less brutal conditions the front-engined, rear-drive coupe lacked the power, agility and grip to beat the custom-made Group B monsters.

Advertisement - Article continues below

By the mid-1980s, however, changes were afoot and even the most steroidal works-spec beasts were about to seem tame next to the avant-garde special-stage maniacs of Group B’s new and free-thinking brother, Group S. The key to this liberation was a change in rules, ditching the requirement for 200 homologation cars and obliging manufacturers to build just ten identical examples before going rallying. While 200 cars presented an expensive obligation that demanded a low-volume assembly operation, ten cars was a feasible number to run up in a racing workshop, meaning entrants could get wild with the specs without blowing half the budget constructing dozens of road-legal replicas.

> Ford RS1700T – Dead on arrival

The reduced obligations of Group S were Toyota’s cue to come up with a brand new, bespoke rally car carrying its engine in the middle. The foundation for this new contender, codenamed 222D, seemed to be a marketing department no-brainer. While Peugeot, Lancia and Austin Rover had to pretend their mid-motor rally weapons were related to the hatchbacks they loosely resembled, Toyota had recently announced an actual mid-engined road car on which the 222D could be based.

Skip advert
Advertisement
Advertisement - Article continues below

Of course, the end result was about as close to an MR2 as a 6R4 was to your grandmother’s Metro Vanden Plas, since the showroom MR2 was a steel monocoque car with MacPherson struts all round while Toyota Team Europe in Cologne gave their new rally car a space frame carrying double wishbones at the front and a multi-link set-up at the rear. At least the composite shell largely resembled a swollen MR2, though there was one big design change: the ill-fated Ford GT70 and wonky-eyed TR7s had amply demonstrated that pop-up lights weren’t great for rallying, so the 222D gained a new front end with fixed lamps behind Perspex covers. 

The first prototype was completed in February 1985, initially running the engine from the Group B Celica before Toyota upped the ante with a brawnier turbocharged four, codenamed 503E, intended for endurance racing. In some prototypes this engine sat crossways and drove all four wheels. In others it was mounted lengthways and turned only the rears. Either way, the 222D wasn’t without problems, cursed with limited suspension travel, knife-edge short-wheelbase twitchiness and lashings of ’80s-spec turbo lag. Further development might have mitigated these issues but it wasn’t to be. In May 1986 the death of Henri Toivonen at the wheel of his Delta S4 was a high-profile tragedy too far and Group B was immediately cancelled, ironically just a day after Toyota Team Europe started work on a new facility to make and run its fleet of 222Ds.

Pre-emptive attempts to make Group S safer proposed rule tweaks that worked against the 222D, variously suggesting a minimum weight of 1000kg, a max turbocharged engine capacity of 1.2 litres, or maybe 2 litres at a push, and a 300bhp power cap. The lighter, rear-drive 222D weighed a dainty 750kg, while its mighty engine was a 2.1-litre, claimed to be capable of delivering over 750bhp.

In the end all of this was irrelevant because Group S was abandoned before it could begin and the 222D prototypes were condemned to the scrapper. Yet three of the 11 built survive to this day, and one was even brought back to life after years in mothballs and has been fired up for events such as the Goodwood Festival of Speed, just to remind people of what might have been.

This story was first featured in evo issue 300.

Skip advert
Advertisement

Recommended

The automotive takeover that could’ve killed Porsche, Honda and the BMW X6
Toyota Supra
Opinion

The automotive takeover that could’ve killed Porsche, Honda and the BMW X6

In a parallel universe, one particularly shrewd brand partnership reigns supreme
22 May 2025
Volkswagen EA 128 – dead on arrival
Volkswagen EA 128
Features

Volkswagen EA 128 – dead on arrival

It was a four-door with a Porsche flat-six at the rear – which was exactly what ’60s America didn’t want
6 May 2025
Lamborghini Cheetah – dead on arrival
Lamborghini 4x4
Features

Lamborghini Cheetah – dead on arrival

How the Italian supercar maker once put its name to a 4x4 intended for the American military
8 Apr 2025
Maserati Quattroporte II – dead on arrival
Maserati Quattroporte II
Features

Maserati Quattroporte II – dead on arrival

Progress on this Citroën SM-derived four-door stalled when the French firm faltered in the mid-’70s
27 Feb 2025
Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

Mercedes-AMG discounting its F1-inspired super saloon by £9500
Mercedes-AMG C63
News

Mercedes-AMG discounting its F1-inspired super saloon by £9500

The Mercedes-AMG C63 S E Performance is, to the surprise of very few, not selling well. So now there are deals to be had…
19 May 2025
BMW might be about to revive the Z3 M Coupe ‘clownshoe’
BMW Z3 M Coupe teaser
News

BMW might be about to revive the Z3 M Coupe ‘clownshoe’

A new Z3 M-inspired shooting brake will be unveiled at Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este later this month – here’s a sneak peek
20 May 2025
Porsche 911 Carrera GTS 2025 review – hybrid done the right way
Porsche 911 GTS – front
Reviews

Porsche 911 Carrera GTS 2025 review – hybrid done the right way

A new hybrid engine and chassis upgrades have injected personality and huge capability into the 992
20 May 2025