Time to get excited as those are the exact words from Toyota’s Executive Vice President, Yuki Nakajima, when queried by Japanese automotive magazine Best Car about the Celica’s revival. The magazine’s rendering of the new sports car is above.
At the recent Rally Japan 2024, Best Car caught up with Toyota’s Chairman, Akio Toyoda, and asked about the Celica. The former CEO parried it over to Nakajima who replied with exactly what many die-hard fans have been dreaming about: “we will make the Celica.”
Rumours about a new eighth-generation Toyota Celica have been toying with our feelings for years now, but Nakajima seems to have finally proved dreams do come true.
Nonetheless, it might be some time before the all-new model reaches anywhere near production, given the full statement from him, “To be honest, there’s nothing tangible at the moment. However, there’s strong demand within the company for the Celica. So, is it okay to say this publicly? We’re doing it, Celica!”
The company has constantly renewed the patent for the nameplate, but that’s just business as usual for many carmakers with discontinued models to retain the rights.
However, further strengthening the case was a glimpse of a scene from Toyota’s own in-house anime series, Grip. Blink and you’ll miss it but a whiteboard shown in the background during a scene included the words “Celica Mk8.” Catch the scene around the 46-second mark below.
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Most of the rumours also centred around the two new engines introduced by Toyota earlier this year. The X20 and X15 inline-four mills represent the next generation of engines, with the former having a high-output variant.
The 2.0-litre turbo X20 can be utilised in electrified setups or on its own, and could punch out up to 400 hp. On the other hand, the 1.5-litre turbo X15 is positioned as a replacement for the current 2.5-litre hybrid system when paired with electrification.
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Part of the versatility engineered into these engines include compatibility with vertical and horizontal mountings, the latter making a case for the Celica. Furthermore, when paired with the all-wheel drive system from the GR Corolla or GR Yaris, that setup would be a worthy successor to the Celica ST185 All-Trac.
At SEMA this year, Toyota brought a custom GR86 with the engine and drivetrain from the GR Corolla, meaning the execs are dreaming of an all-wheel drive coupe.
