New Toyota Celica confirmed by exec, but when is it coming?

After months of speculation surrounding the possible rebirth of Toyota’s defunct small sports cars, the brand’s vice president has publicly confirmed the Celica will be reborn.

Speaking to a crowd at a event at last weekend’s WRC Rally Japan, Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda was asked by Best Car Web if a new Celica was on the way.

While the head of the car giant responded by saying he couldn’t answer, he instead directed the question to Toyota executive vice president Yuki Nakajima.

“To be honest, there is no sign of it right now,” Nakajima-san said in translated comments reported by Best Car.

“However, there are many people within the company who are eagerly awaiting the Celica. So – I’m not sure if it’s okay to say this in a public forum – but we’re doing the Celica!”

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While Toyoda-san reportedly suggested Nakajima-san’s claim should be taken with a grain of salt, the executive vice president followed by hinting that a new Celica could be unveiled as early as next year.

Sports car concepts from Toyota like the FT-Se have been shown off in recent years, which have hinted at a possible electric future for cars like the Celica and MR2.

More recently, subtle references to a “Celica Mk8” and “MR2 Mk4” appeared in Toyota’s GRIP cartoon series, along with supposed hints to new generations of the GR86 and Supra.

If it’s true, it’ll be the first new Celica to be built in 18 years after production of the seventh-generation ‘T230’ ended in 2006. A historical rivalry could also appear again, spurred on by the imminent debut of the reborn Honda Prelude.

A reborn Celica could give weight to recent rumours which have suggested the brand’s GR lineup is due to be expanded – not least through the addition of a new Supra, GR86, and the enigmatic GR GT3.

Interestingly, it’s believed new Celica and MR2 models would exist alongside the GR86 and Supra in Toyota’s performance lineup, with the cars to be differentiated primarily by body type and driveline configuration.

In the case of the MR2, that could mean a small two-door rear-wheel drive sports car with a mid-mounted engine if the historical formula is to be revived – though it has previously been suggested it could be a mid-engine all-wheel drive monster instead.

If history is anything to go by, the Celica could once again feature a two-door, front-engine, front-wheel drive layout, with flagship versions getting a hotter all-wheel drive system.

Regardless of the specific model, it has been suggested that new small sports cars from Toyota must include features like a low seat height to bring them in line with a more traditional sports car experience.

The FT-Se concept, for example, was revealed to sit 75mm lower than the Porsche 718 Cayman at last year’s Tokyo Motor Show. Its design was also split into three modules, headlined by single-piece front and rear ends.

The Toyota Celica first appeared in production guise at the 1970 Tokyo Motor Show and entered production in December of that year. Aimed at the North American market, it was Toyota’s response to the 1964 Ford Mustang pony car.

Its front-engine, rear-wheel drive layout continued through to the second-generation A40 Celica of 1977 – the model that birthed the first-generation Supra and Camry – and the third-generation A60, which was in production from 1981.

In 1985 the fourth-generation T160 Celica arrived, which was a drastic departure from the previous setup. It now featured a transverse-mounted engine and was front-wheel drive only, though a turbocharged all-wheel drive GT-Four version was also available in Japan and the USA.

The fifth- and sixth-generation Celicas maintained the same configuration, and their respective GT-Four models were sold in Australia by Toyota for the first time. From the late 1980s, Toyota’s global rally team also saw considerable success with the Celica at the hands of drivers like Carlos Sainz Sr.

The seventh and final generation Celica was in production from 1999 to 2006, which saw the AWD option dropped in favour of a FWD-only lineup. Its end was announced in 2004, with Toyota citing a lack of sales at the time.

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