Will Toyota revive the Celica nameplate?

Akio Toyoda is a fan of the Celica. With the nameplate’s success in the FIA World Rally Championship (FIA WRC), there is good hope that it could come back given that Toyota’s GR Yaris exists and the brand’s other GR models are coming through the woodwork. 

The Supra and the GR86 are among the latest production models to bear the new GR name in the lineup. Among the speculations as to what the next GR model will be, some are pointing to an MR2 revival or the return of the Celica. 

Akio Toyoda said in an interview conducted on March 5, 2023, at the Shinshiro Rally, “I think the Celica name has a special place in the hearts of rally fans, alongside the Corolla and Yaris. There was a period when Toyota dropped various cars, but we have since seen long-selling models make a comeback. I have a faint hope that President Koji Sato will carry on this trend for us.”

Chairman Toyoda has apparently requested for the model’s revival, but he “[doesn’t] know how it will turn out.” Bringing back the Celica will also require the involvement of Juha “Mr. Celica” Kankkunen, a four-time champion in the model. Toyoda has asked for Kankkunen involvement back then, which could mean that there is something afoot and that there is something brewing in Toyota’s HQ. 

However, the brand has given no official news yet of a Celica revival. All we have are leads that point to the Chairman’s fondness of the nameplate, and the fact that he’s exerting a strong pull to bring forth a modern interpretation of the legendary nameplate.

Will see a Celica soon? Will it come before the MR2? Will it represent the rally pedigree that its predecessors achieved in the past? It’s going to be interesting to see a new Celica come forth from Toyota, but the big question has yet to be answered for now which is: “Will Toyota revive it?”