Toyota Celica revival reportedly confirmed by top executive
Today at 07:17 PM
After years of rumours, it finally looks to be official: A new Toyota Celica is coming, and reports suggest it will use petrol not electric power.
The return of the legendary Toyota Celica name has reportedly been confirmed by a senior Toyota executive, weeks after a fresh trademark for the name was applied.
Plans for a new Celica have long been rumoured by the Japanese press, and Toyota executives have frequently dropped hints the model will return after an 18-year absence.
Now a new generation has been confirmed, according to quotes published by magazine Best Car at the Japanese round of the World Rally Championship over the weekend.
MORE: Toyota Celica name trademarked
“To be honest, there is no sign of it right now. However, there are many people within the company who are eagerly awaiting the Celica,” Toyota chief technology officer Hiroki Nakajima told the crowd, according to remarks published by Best Car, and translated via Google Translate.
“So… I wonder if it’s okay to say this in a public forum, but we’re doing the Celica!”
If the comments are accurate, it represents the first formal confirmation of a new Toyota Celica by the Japanese car giant.
Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda, who was sharing the stage with Nakajima-san, added: “Is everything okay? There are a lot of difficulties. Best Car wrote that Toyota is making the Celica, but you shouldn’t believe that.”
MORE: Toyota hints at new Celica, MR2, Supra, and other future sports cars
Nakajima-san responded: “They haven’t said when it will be released, so it could be next year.”
A different translation of the quotes via website DeepL suggests Nakajima-san instead said: “We haven’t said when we will start development.”
Toyota has not confirmed any further details of the Celica revival, but the latest reports suggest it will be powered by petrol, rather than electricity.
The Japanese car giant is developing a new 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine – producing as much as 300kW – which Best Car has previously reported will be used in a new Celica and MR2.
MORE: Toyota reveals new petrol engine, rumoured for Celica and MR2
The introduction of a new Celica – previously a four-cylinder, front- or rear-wheel-drive coupe sold from 1970 to 2006 – calls into question the future of Toyota’s current rear-wheel-drive, four-cylinder coupe, the GR86.
Toyota executives were non-committal on the future of the car, but appeared to suggest it will live on for a new generation – possibly with one of Toyota’s next-generation petrol engines.
It would contrast reports that have suggested a version of the GR Yaris hot hatch’s 1.6-litre turbo three-cylinder engine will be used, aided by hybrid technology.
MORE: Toyota GR86 turbo revealed with all-wheel drive, but you can't buy one
When an audience member asked what engine the next GR86 would use, Toyota GR86 race driver in the Super Taikyu Series, Kazuya Oshima, said: “We’re currently working on a lot of things (regarding the next-generation GR86 and its engine), mainly on the circuit.”
Nakajima-san added: “At this year’s Tokyo Auto Salon, I asked Morizo [Akio Toyoda’s racing pseudonym], ‘Which is your favorite engine, the one you would like to leave to the next generation?’
“He replied, ‘Subaru’s horizontally opposed engine and Mazda’s rotary engine.’ There were no Toyota engines!
“This inspired all of Toyota’s engine developers. We will create an engine that Morizo will want to leave behind. It’s not a matter of whether we can release it or not, or whether we will leave it behind or not, but we are going to release it!”
MORE: Toyota chairman drops biggest hint at Celica revival
Toyota president Koji Sato said in May 2023 “I want to revive the Celica,” followed by comments from Chaiman Toyoda at another Japanese rallying event later in the year hinting at a new Celica.
“I'm not just saying this because we're at a rally event, but Kankkunen is Mr Celica. He was champion four times in the Celica,” Toyoda (translated) told the brand’s internal publication Toyota Times.
“Now you can all have a think about why I'm using Kankkunen so much. See if you can guess!”
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