When Akio Toyoda, the chairman of Toyota, said earlier this year that he had asked for the coupe to be given another chance, rumors about a Toyota Celica comeback reached a fever pitch. The rumors spread even though they were false. The performance car market could be doing better these days, and the former CEO has less power than he used to. It’s hard to tell what to believe now, though, since the rumors are even being written about in the company newspaper, Toyota Times. Toyoda said in an interview that was transcribed by Toyota Times on March 5 that “the Celica is a car that I would like to have again.” He said, I There is a glimmer of hope that President Koji Sato will continue this pattern for us. On the 10th of September, he admitted that he had requested that the Celica be brought before him back. The article from the Toyota Times then went on to talk about the nameplate’s history, cultural significance, and motorsport legacy, including the well-known GT-Four cheating scandal in the WRC. The company spokesperson’s focus on the possibility of Celica’s relaunch is interesting, even if the story doesn’t directly support it. Usually, automakers’ PR departments don’t talk about products that have yet to be released, so Toyota’s avoiding questions about the Celica’s future in public is unusual. That’s a lot of time spent on something that’s not supposed to happen, even if there are signs that it will come back. A Japanese auto magazine in 2021 thought that the Celica might be brought back as an electric cars or with a different type of lower-emission drivetrain. That would put it up against the Honda Prelude, an electric coupe that looks like a mix of the Integra and the CR-Z and just came out. It also looks like it’s the only open spot in Toyota’s lineup of performance cars. Toyota officials have talked about bringing back the “three brothers” performance trio: the Celica, the MR2, and the Supra. The FT-Se EV, which looks like the MR2, was confirmed in October. The Supra is already on the market, and the GR86 and GR Corolla are affordable rear-wheel-drive coupes and all-wheel drive cars, respectively. The only thing that is left is room for a fuel-efficient entry-level front-wheel-drive model that comes after the GR86. Like the car rumors say, we’re getting. If the Celica comes back, it will be a version of the new Prius that is better for drivers. Even so, the new Prius looks like a strong enough base for a high-performance car that a smaller, lighter, and more aerodynamic version would be better. That is especially true if a fast GRMN version is being made.
