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Reborn Toyota Celica to join brand's performance revolution? If it looks like this, we're in

If a new Toyota Celica looks like this, we're in! (image credit: TopGear Phillipines)

Toyota is on the record as keen to complete its performance trilogy – or what it calls its "three brother" strategy - with a new performance hero to join the GR 86 and GR Supra in a three-prong attack on everything from the Subaru WRX STi to the new Nissan Z, the Ford Mustang and the Chevrolet Camaro - and just about everything else.

The only question is what vehicle will it be? One option is a reborn MR2 - with some Japanese outlets suggesting work has begun on a new-gen performance car. But the other persistent rumour is that Toyota's partnership with Subaru will again bear fruit, this time in the shape of a shared performance vehicle badged the Celica when wearing Toyota colours.

According to Best Car Web, Toyota this year re-registered ‘Celica’ as a trademark in North America, prompting the outlet's sleuths to start digging with their Toyota HQ contacts to see what was up.

And... the news was exciting. According to the publication, Toyota sources confirmed a third performance model would be joining the line-up, that it would wear a Celica badge, and that it would be powered by future-facing technology, whether electric or hydrogen fuelled.

If true, then it would see the the return to the line-up of one of Toyota's most well-known nameplates, which was last seen in 2006 after a 36-year run that yielded seven generations.

None of which is as out there as it might sound. As far back as 2019, Toyota’s performance chief, Tetsuya Tada, told CarsGuide that a reborn Celica was under consideration.

"Not just MR2, but Celica. Many specifications are known, and we are studying, doing every single thing for every car" he told us.

The rumours inspired the designers as TopGear Phillipinnes to cook up what they -- and, let's face it, all of us -- hope it would look lile. And we're pretty head-over-heels for this muscular, old-school design that harks back to the LT Celica. 

Keep your fingers crossed.