Toyota has been dropping hints about a new Celica for over a year. Chairman Akio Toyoda admitted in an interview published by Best Car magazine in October 2023 that he had requested the higher-ups to revive the sports car. Last year, president Tsuneji Sato publicly announced his desire for the beloved moniker to return. As if that wasn’t enough, “Celica Mk8” briefly appeared on a whiteboard in a recent episode of Toyota’s Grip anime series.
Now, the very same Best Car claims to have learned directly from Toyota that a new Celica is in the works. The reputable Japanese magazine asked Akio Toyoda if the long-rumored sports car is making a comeback. He refused to answer but redirected the question to the firm’s Chief Technology Officer, Hiroki Nakajima. Nakajima is quoted saying: "We will make the Celica."
Seemingly realizing it may not have been the right time or place to make the announcement, the CTO added: “So I wonder if it's okay for me to say this.” The juicy disclosure was allegedly made over the weekend at the Toyota Stadium in the Aichi Prefecture as part of the 2024 Rally Japan festivities. This is the closest we’ve gotten yet to an official confirmation from Toyota that it’s dusting off the Celica name.
During the same event, attendees were allowed to ask questions. The audience inquired about Toyota's plans for the next-generation GR86, specifically whether it would continue to have rear-wheel drive and whether it would be turbocharged or not. Best Car reports Gazoo Racing driver Kazuya Oshima took the microphone and said the development team is “currently working on various things.”
Toyota has gone on record to say it’s working on a new family of small four-cylinder engines with 1.5- and 2.0-liter displacements. One of the beefier powertrains has already been tested in a stripped-down Lexus IS, which didn’t sound half bad. The 2.0 unit will be turbocharged whereas the 1.5 is expected to come with and without forced induction.
Toyota’s Grip anime series we mentioned in the beginning also included a "GR86 Mk3," a "Supra Mk6," and even an "MR2 Mk4." The list ended with a "GR GT3," which is expected to be a Toyota race car with a street-legal Lexus equivalent, purportedly called "LFR."
