Toyota Celica News

The new Toyota Celica has been confirmed by Toyota’s racing division ahead of an anticipated production car debut for the re-booted nameplate. Toyota Racing announced it would enter two teams and two cars in next year’s FIA World Rally Championship, including the GR Celica Rally1. Confirmation of the existence of the Celica comes after months of speculation and several production mules spotted testing in the wild. No details were confirmed for the new car, other than the version entered into the WRC would comply with the latest regulations. Toyota Racing simply said “drivers will be entrusted with the new GR Celica Rally1 car, returning one of the most iconic names in Toyota rally history to the WRC.” The brand also refrained from sharing images of its new Rally1 machine, leaving us to rely on existing images of the test mule that have been spotted in the wild. This has taken the form of a mysterious camouflaged sports coupe spotted testing in Portugal last year, adopting what appears to be a Yaris front-end with a coupe-style rear. Other prototypes recently seen in Japan also show a long-suspected mid-engine test mule on a test track. It follows on from the official GR Yaris M concept car, which Toyota showed at the Super Taikyu race series. While this car took the form of a race-ready GR Yaris from the outside, it featured a mid-mounted 2.0-litre engine producing up to 450kW in race form. At the time Toyota said the Yaris M concept was designed to remove the weaknesses of front-engined cars in “concentrating the load on the front tires during all driving operations. “In circuit environments this significantly affects tire wear and leads to a tendency to understeer.” Whether these are all Toyota developing the same car in a different form, or a Celica and long-rumored re-booted MR2 as separate vehicles is yet to be determined. Toyota is remaining tight-lipped. Regardless, while the latest WRC rules allow Toyota to move beyond the usual hatchback body style, it still requires the engine to be in the front. Toyota’s Gazoo Racing President Tomoya Takahashi has alluded to the production version of the sports car not materialising until closer to the end of the decade. All efforts are part of Toyota moving away from its ‘boring’ image and promising to continue to invest in “motorsport-bred” sports cars. This has meant continued investment in the 86, proper GR Yaris and GR Corolla hot hatchbacks, and the GR GT flagship. Toyota is also on the cusp of something fresh in its sports car department, as the Supra, which shared its platform with the BMW Z4 has been discontinued. The GR 86 will also evolve or morph for its next-generation, with the brand saying it will not continue the partnership with Subaru which lends the current car its flat four engine. Will Toyota really have room in its line-up for an 86, Celica, and an MR2? The company has the resources, but whether that makes commercial sense remains to be seen.

The Toyota Celica could be revived with a hybrid set-up. The Celica revival project at Toyota began in 2024, when it was announced by now former Vice President Yuki Nakajima.  It has now been confirmed the car is likely to utilise a hybrid set-up, which could be either plug-less or plug-in, and it will have four-wheel drive, according to UK publication Autocar. It has been rumoured this hybrid set-up could deliver a whopping 300kW. Gazoo Racing marketing manager Mikio Hayashi said there are still many variables at play as the Celica crawls towards launch. “The displacement size of 1.6 litres , for example, cannot meet emission regulations. So we have to consider the possibility of a 2.0-litre,” Hayashi told AutoCar. "We are thinking about various sizes, but we are not at a stage where we can tell you exactly what size it is. Nothing has been decided yet about whether it will be a standard hybrid or plug-in hybrid.” It seems like the 2.0-litre engine could be winning the race at the moment, with progress being made according to Hayashi.  “We are continuing to develop that. We have high expectations,” he said.  "We cannot point to a timeline but can say we are making steady progress.” The news comes after Toyota’s potential entrant for the 2027 World Rally Championship was spotted undergoing testing, featuring in a Celica-style shape. This appears to be a clear indication of the brand moving away from the GR Yaris for its rallying competition. It also improves the chances we will see the return of two iconic Toyota names, with the MR2 also seemingly nearing a return. The brand has filed intellectual property filings in both Australia and Japan for ‘MR2’ and ‘GR MR2’, respectively.  It has been confirmed this car will also feature a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol hybrid all-wheel drive set-up and is rumoured to produce 370kW and 550Nm. Despite these details, it still looks like the Celica and the MR2 remain several years away from production.

It’s no secret Toyota wants to revive the Celica nameplate. Now, thanks to a Portuguese rally fan, the new Celica is no longer a secret at all.

Is Toyota about to spring a reborn Celica on us? A mid-engined 300kW GR Celica that’s just 1.2m tall with a weird windscreen? The rumour mill is working around the clock right now, but our friends at Japanese auto publication Best Car Web, who are often on the money, say they are receiving inside information about an almost ready new-gen Celica that’s very exciting.

The rumours are true, Toyota is bringing back the Celica. Toyota’s Vice President, Yuki Nakajima, said the iconic sports car will make a triumphant return, according to Japanese publication, Best Car. “We're making the Celica!,” said Nakajima. "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. So… I wonder if it's okay to say this in a public forum, but we're doing the Celica!" Toyota Australia recently lodged a new trademark for the Celica name Down Under, which adds weight to the sports car's local revival. Speculation has been rife for several years now about the return of the Celica. It is believed to house a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine paired with hybrid power under the bonnet. Rumours put this combination as capable of 300kW. Toyota has already announced it is developing a range of new four-cylinder engines — 1.5-litre and 2.0-litre turbo units — that work better with high levels of electrification, so this set-up is a distinct possibility. It isn’t the only sports car rumoured to be in the works at Toyota. An official Toyota Anime series, Grip, has hinted at the next-generation icons with plans for the Supra Mk6, Celica Mk 8, MR2 Mk4, GR86 Mk3 and GR GT3 hidden in plain sight in the most recent episode. The GT3 car has been shown in concept form and the road going version was spied testing at the Nurburgring recently in the form of the Lexus LF-R, and a next-gen 86 and Supra are likely to follow. The next-gen GR86 is expected to get the 1.6-litre three-cylinder turbo petrol engine from the current Yaris GR paired with hybrid help. This is expected to deliver more than 200kW and lower fuel use. The MR2 has been thought of as a new electric sports car, potentially previewed by the FT-Se concept at the 2023 Tokyo motor show. It is expected to reach production in 2027 using Toyota's next-gen 'square cell' performance batteries. The company is also working on solid state batteries that are lighter, smaller, more energy dense, faster charging and less prone to fire than current cells and has earmarked 2028 for the first application to a production car. Solid state batteries are thought to be the answer to making electric sports cars, utes and four-wheel drives feasible.

Toyota has dropped another breadcrumb for us to follow on the path to a rumoured sports car onslaught. Rumours and speculation started to appear a few years ago about the revival of classic performance cars such as the Celica and MR2. Now an official Toyota Anime series, Grip, has hinted at the next-generation icons. Hidden on a whiteboard in the back of the frame were a range of cars: Supra Mk6, Celica Mk 8, MR2 Mk4, GR86 Mk3 and GR GT3. The GT3 car has been shown in concept form and the road going version was spied testing at the Nurburgring recently in the form of the Lexus LF-R and next-gen 86 and Supra are likely to follow. Japanese outlets such as Best Car, which is known for well placed sources in Toyota, has been reporting on the next-gen GR86 and the rebirth of the Celica and MR2 for some time. At the 2023 Tokyo motor show Toyota showed the FT-Se concept that screamed an electric MR2. It is expected to reach production in 2027 using Toyota's next-gen 'square cell' performance batteries. The company is also working on solid state batteries that are lighter, smaller, more energy dense, faster charging and less prone to fire than current cells and has earmarked 2028 for the first application to a production car. The Celica and GR86 could be hybrid-powered, though. Earlier this year it also revealed it was hard at work developing new engines that work better with hybrid power. A 1.5-litre and 2.0-litre turbocharged engine are under development. Best Car has repeatedly reported the mooted next-gen Celica would use a turbocharged 2.0-litre unit paired with hybrid power to deliver an astounding 300kW. The GR86 has previously been linked to hybrid power with the 1.6-litre three-cylinder turbo engine found in the Yaris GR. The recent engine developments could mean it’ll house a 1.5-litre engine and hybrid set-up under its bonnet, though. It has been previously speculated to be able to produce 220kW, which is a massive jump over the current version’s 152kW. Toyota isn’t alone, though, there is a groundswell of support for small, fun sports cars out of Japan. Mazda is believed to be turning its head-turning Iconic SP concept into a reality with a rotary-hybrid range extender at it heart. Honda is likely to bring back the swoopy Prelude as hybrid answer to its Japanese rivals.

Toyota has just given us our first proper look at its performance future, unveiling the new engine family that will reportedly power its Celica and MR2 revival programs.

Rumours of a purely Toyota-developed, dedicated sports car model may be greatly exaggerated if word from the head of the brand’s GR performance arm are a hint at the future of fast and fun Toyotas.

Toyota has mentioned another likely sports car revival off the back of the company's renewed interest in combustion engines. The eighth generation Toyota Celica, another coupe, is expected to be shown at next year’s Tokyo Auto Salon, according to Japanese outlet BestCar. This rumour follows the mooted rebirth of MR2, Starlet Turbo and new sub-86 S-FR that are all set to join Toyota existing GR Supra, GR 86, Corolla and Yaris.  What shape the new Celica will take, though, is less sure. The name has taken various forms throughout the years; those around in the 70s will remember it as a sleek rear-drive coupe colloquially known as the Japanese Mustang. Fans of the WRC and Group A era racing are more likely to remember the fourth, fifth and sixth generations that spawned Toyota’s infamous ‘3S-GTE’ powered Celica GT-Four rally car, codenamed either ST165, ST185 or ST205 depending on the model.  Noughties kids might recall the angular front-drive seventh-gen coupe popular in the Fast & Furious and Need For Speed franchises.  From the report, it seems Toyota is more likely to go down the WRC-era route for the new Celica’s revival. BestCar’s often reliable speculation points to the new Celica featuring the GR-Four active torque split all-wheel drive system found in the GR Yaris and Corolla. However, rather than just a coupe Corolla (as the fifth and sixth-gen Celica effectively were) it sounds like the new two-door will feature a bigger, 2.0-litre engine producing around 300kW that was announced last year and then confirmed this week by Toyota.  This powertrain has reportedly been in development for some time and is ready for release, however there’s no car for it to currently sit in – a new Celica would fit the bill. It would also give the coupe a point-of-difference to the hardcore GR Corolla and Yaris.  Positioning the new Celica as a luxury alternative to GR products would make sense. The GR 86 has taken the reins from where the old Celica sat and there’s a big gap up to the rear-drive $90K Supra. An all-wheel drive coupe with leather upholstery, 2+2 seating arrangement and the option of automatic or manual transmission for about $70K could prove a success.  Only time will tell if Toyota puts the Celica into production – we’ll have more info by Tokyo Auto Salon 2025. 

While the incoming Toyota MR2 looks set to retain turbo-petrol power, the reborn Celica that will follow it will jump straight to solid-state battery tech, delivering impressive power outputs and a ridiculous driving range, according to new reports out of