From the Public Service Desk of our Star Wars Promotional Giveaway Car Department comes the call to help locate the lost Star Wars 1977 Toyota Celica. While evidence of the contest and the creation of the car clearly exists, the winner of this first prize and the location of the Celica itself remain shrouded in an impenetrable haze of darkness. The story, condensed, comes from the Official Star Wars Blog:

"The Star Wars Celica was designed by Delphi Auto Design in Costa Mesa, California, and awarded sometime after the end of 1977, probably in January 1978. While the sweepstakes were a joint venture hosted by Toyota and Twentieth Century Fox, the awarding dealership remains a mystery, as does the identity of the winner and the vehicle's VIN number."

While the famous Tom Jung poster artwork was painstakingly airbrushed onto the rear panels of countless numbers of Seventies vans, the giveaway Celica is apparently the only one of its kind. Photos of the artist's rendering and actual car come directly from Pete Vilmur, who published this account of the missing Celica as a prequel to the call on Official Star Wars Blog. And yes, we know you can't see anything with the blast shield down. We need you to help find the Celica in all its airbrushed fender flared late Seventies glory anyway.

Visit Hemmings Motor News