In May 2023, the chairman of Toyota, Akio Toyoda, admitted his love for the Celica, and the new president of Toyota Motor Company Tsuneharu Sato immediately announced that he wanted to return the model to production. The main question remained whether it was wise to create a classic sports coupe with an internal combustion engine when the era of electric vehicles had already begun.
In January of this year, Akio Toyoda, who is a fierce opponent of full electrification, believing that it will shake the world economy and lead to the collapse of Japanese industry, said that the company will continue to develop internal combustion engines.
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In May 2024, Toyota, Mazda and Subaru announced the creation of a consortium, each member of which promised never to abandon traditional engines and, in honor of the seriousness of its intentions, revealed its achievements to the other participants: Toyota has a conventional internal combustion engine , which with a small volume provides more performance, Mazda continues to work on rotary technology, while Subaru's strong point is horizontal boxer engines.
Now, according to vice president of new technologies and development Hiroki Nakajima, Toyota is developing three engines: a 1.5-liter naturally aspirated and turbo engine and a two-liter turbo unit. All three engines are approximately 10% smaller in volume than conventional power units in the same class and deliver high power and fuel efficiency.
These engines comply with the Euro-7 standards, which have not yet entered into force; many car manufacturers simply refused to bring their internal combustion engines up to this standard, citing unprofitability. In addition, the advantage of new Toyota engines is that they absorb synthetic and biological fuels and liquid hydrogen. And, of course, the new product can be used as part of hybrid powertrains.
The main question is which models will get these engines. The line is quite wide - from the Corolla Cross to the Alphard minivan. And in the same list there should be a place for the Toyota Celica, writes BestCar. Toyota Celica will get the most powerful two-liter engine. At least that's according to Nakajima's statements, which said the engine could be fitted to sports cars and pickup trucks.
It is not yet known how the revived model will be positioned. It is supposed to be the premium segment where its predecessor was introduced. The expected power of the engine is 400 hp, and the Celica can also be equipped with an all-wheel drive system. Toyota is not alone in its desire to conquer the narrow niche of sports coupes: Honda plans to launch the Prelude in 2025-2026.