Toyota has been hinting at a couple of new Celica for over a year. In an interview published by the Finest Automobile Journal in October 2023, Chairman Akio Toyoda admitted that he had requested the higher-ups to revive the sports activities automobile. President Tsuneji Sato publicly introduced his need for the beloved moniker to return in his final year. As if that wasn’t sufficient, “Celica Mk8” briefly appeared on a whiteboard in a current Toyota’s Grip anime collection episode.

Now, the same Finest Automobile claims to have realized instantly from Toyota {that a} new Celica is in the works. The respected Japanese journal asked Akio Toyoda if the long-rumored sports activities automobile is making a comeback. He refused to reply but redirected the query to the agency’s Chief Know-how Officer. Hiroki Nakajima is quoted saying: “We’ll make the Celica.”

Seemingly realizing it might not have been the proper time or place to make the announcement, the CTO added, “So I ponder if it is okay for me to say this.” The juicy disclosure was allegedly remodeled the weekend on the Toyota Stadium within the Aichi Prefecture as part of the 2024 Rally Japan festivities. That is the closest we’ve gotten to an official affirmation from Toyota that it’s dusting off the Celica identity.

Throughout the identical occasion, attendees were allowed to ask questions. The viewers inquired about Toyota’s plans for the next-generation GR86, particularly whether it will continue to be rear-wheel drive and whether it will be turbocharged. Finest Automobile Stories Gazoo Racing driver Kazuya Oshima took the microphone and stated the event group is “engaged on numerous issues.”

Toyota has gone on file to say it’s engaged in a brand new family of small four-cylinder engines with 1.5—and a couple of.0-liter displacements. One of many beefier powertrains has already been examined in a stripped-down Lexus IS, which didn’t sound half dangerous. The two 0 units shall be turbocharged, whereas the 1.5 is predicted to come back without pressured induction.

Toyota’s Grip anime collection, which we discussed to start with, additionally included a “GR86 Mk3,” a “Supra Mk6,” and even an “MR2 Mk4.” The checklist ended with a “GR GT3,” which is predicted to be a Toyota race automobile with a street-legal Lexus equal, purportedly known as “LFR.”