First manufacturers' championship for Toyota

The car was nearing its peak of perfection at the outset of the 1991 season, winning the Portugal, Corsica, New Zealand and Argentina rallies. Fate took a hand, however, and Sainz’s retirements from two consecutive events were enough to deny him back-to-back titles. But the GT-Four succeeded in playing a formidable role in establishing Toyota and TTE as a major player among the factory teams, achieving its full potential within just two years of its launch.

Sainz was champion again in 1992 and in 1993 Toyota became the first Japanese manufacturer to win the manufacturers’ championship, with seven WRC victories. Finn Juha Kankkunen, driving the Celica Turbo 4WD also clinched that year’s drivers’ title. Didier Auriol extended Toyota’s winning streak to three consecutive years by becoming champion driver in 1994, the first Frenchman to achieve the feat.