Everything we know about the new Toyota Celica as details and leaks keep stacking up

News that Toyota’s performance arm, Gazoo Racing, has a fourth coupe model under development should come as good news to enthusiasts. That car, tipped to adopt Toyota’s Celica name, could become the only mid-engined coupe in Australia’s sub-$90K sports car segment if it finds its way here.

In 2024, Toyota vice president Hiroki Nakajima told journalists at Rally Japan, “We are making the Celica.” At that point in time, concrete details weren’t known, and some speculation remains about whether the new Celica will be front- or mid-engined.

Images of the latest development mules lean toward the latter, with pronounced air intakes on each side of the car aft of the rear doors, and a low bonnet line that limits clearance for an engine up front. Our crack at an AI render of the possible new Celica is below (and main).

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That philosophical shift means that, despite the Celica name, the new model could be closer to a spiritual successor to the mid-engined MR2. The only complication being that the new Celica is set to offer all-wheel drive, as with fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-gen Celicas – something the production MR2 never offered.

Toyota has been open about its mid-engined development program, running a modified GR Yaris in Japan’s Super Taikyu race series.

Similarly, that car’s powertrain is no secret, and points to what to expect from a production mid-engine car from the brand. In March this year, Gazoo Racing marketing manager Mikio Hayashi told Autocar that the current GR Yaris and GR Corolla 1.6-litre three-cylinder engine was unlikely to meet future emissions targets.

“The displacement size of 1.6 litres, for example, cannot meet emission regulations. So we have to consider the possibility of a 2.0-litre.” That 2.0-litre engine, with the engine code G20E forms the basis of the mid-engined Yaris program, providing the strongest hint yet that it’s destined for a production future.

Unlike the current G16E three-cylinder design, the G20E is set to become a four-cylinder engine. Toyota has claimed the engine could produce as much as 335kW, although initial figures are expected to stay closer to the 224kW of the G16E.

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Toyota is also likely to phase out the G16E for the larger G20E in cars like the GR Yaris and GR Corolla over time, with the powertrain flexibility to offer two- or all-wheel drive, manual and automatic transmissions, and pair the engine with hybrid assistance if required.

The GR Celica would also become Toyota’s second in-house developed GR coupe. While the GR hatchbacks are full Toyota models, two-door models like the GR86 and GR Supra have been co-developed with Subaru and BMW, respectively.

Toyota’s new flagship, the twin-turbo V8 GR GT supercar (below), debuted as Toyota’s first wholly GR-developed coupe, and the Celica would be the second, with suggestions the next GR Supra could be a shared program with Mazda.

Toyota has, so far, limited its GR range to coupes and hot hatches. While the lesser ‘GR Sport’ tag has been applied to everything from utes to off-road SUVs to hatchbacks and small crossover SUVs, the stand-alone GR range has kept its bloodline pure.

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Without a full picture of specifications and drivetrain variants, price and positioning for the Celica remain unknown, but the more exotic turbocharged mid-mounted powertrain would see it priced higher than the GR86, from $43,940 plus on-road costs, and likely close to the now-discontinued GR Supra, last offered from $86,295 plus on-road costs.

Australia’s current cheapest mid-engined car, the V8-powered Chevrolet Corvette, starts from $193,990 +ORCs, opening the door to a mid-engined car in Australia’s Sports Cars Under $90,000 segment, which includes a broad mix of models like the Ford Mustang, Mazda MX-5, and Honda Prelude. The new Celica would mark the return to an ‘affordable’ mid-engined model not seen since the Toyota MR2 and MG TF were discontinued in 2005.

Final production timing for the new model and an official reveal date have yet to be announced, but with Toyota keen to show the new model’s development steps, and senior Toyota executives unable to keep key details to themselves, the new Celica could appear sooner rather than later.