While the general public probably knows Toyota best for making practical commuter cars like the Corolla and Prius, auto enthusiasts know that the Japanese automaker has a fun side, too. Toyota’s history of making performance cars designed to deliver thrills stretches back much further than the official creation of the company’s Gazoo Racing division in 2007. Case in point: the Celica, a sports car that rolled off the production line for the last time a year before GR was born after an impressive seven-generation run that started back in 1970.
Just because the Celica’s been out of production for nearly two decades doesn’t mean it’s gone forever. This nameplate still has a major following, and there are plenty of folks who would love to see it make a glorious return. In fact, in recent years, there have been subtle hints and serious rumors about an eighth-generation Celica. While we don’t have any real details yet, we can take a stroll down memory lane and see what all the buzz is about. Let’s take a look at the Celica’s past and what you can expect for its future.
1970: Launch of a Nameplate
The original Celica was Toyota’s response to the Ford Mustang, a product that helped the foreign automaker tap into the North American pony car market. A hardtop coupe with a style that still has collectors drooling today, the model was geared toward driver enjoyment from the very start. Throughout the first generation, the Celica was refined, gaining a liftback (aka hatchback) variant and a three-speed automatic transmission alongside the four- and five-speed manual options.
1977: Second Generation Wins Awards
Several of the Celica’s variants rolled over for the second generation, but plenty of changes were made as well. The front end got a facelift, of course, giving it a fresh look for a new generation. But under the surface were more important upgrades like improved safety, power, and fuel economy. Auto enthusiasts noticed these improvements, and the Celica was named Motor Trend’s Import Car of the Year in 1978.
1978-1979: Celica Supra Launches Future Icons
During the second generation, the Celica came out with two different variants that would go on to have two very different lives of their own. For the 1978 model, the Celica Supra took all of the benefits of a regular Celica and boosted them with a six-cylinder engine that gave drivers more power to work with. Under its original name, the model earned a spot on Car and Driver’s first ever 10Best list in 1983 and became beloved by drivers around the world. By its third generation, the Supra had earned enough clout in its own right that Toyota dropped the “Celica” from its name and spun it off into its own nameplate.
During the 1979 model year, the Celica offered a sedan variant, only available in Japan, that leaned toward practicality rather than athletic performance: the Celica Camry. That variant, of course, eventually spun off into its own model as well, eventually becoming the commuter-friendly Camry that we know today.
1980s: Three Generations Bring More Goodies
Throughout the 1980s, the Celica moved forward into its third, fourth, and fifth generations. This decade saw plenty of experimentation with the Celica formula. During generation three, a convertible was added to the lineup alongside the coupe and liftback versions. During generation four, the Celica switched from rear-wheel drive to front-wheel drive and also gained a turbocharged Celica GT-Four variant equipped with all-wheel drive. For generation five, the Celica got a smoother exterior and became the first Toyota model to use an active-control suspension system.
1992-1994: WRC Win Streak
The Celica GT-Four quickly became a legend for rally fans. The 1990 WRC drivers championship was won by Spanish driver Carlos Sainz, driving none other than the Celica GT-Four. Sainz won the same title with the same car again in 1992. But it wasn’t just a particular driver that made the Celica a rally champ, as the next two years would prove. In 1993, the driver’s championship was won by Finnish driver Juha Kankkunen and in 1994 it was won by French driver Didier Auriol, both of whom were behind the wheel of a turbocharged Celica. For both of those years, Toyota won the championship for manufacturers as well, beating out European automakers like Lancia, Fiat, Audi, and Peugeot for the first time.
1999: The Final Generation
During the final two generations of the Celica, the writing was on the wall. The sixth generation, which launched in 1993, had a new look but cut back on several trim levels, streamlining the options on offer. By 1999, the seventh and so far final generation of the Celica was being produced. The lineup was pared back even more, with only the liftback coupe body style available. Still, the GT-S model was impressive to the end, with Car and Driver going so far as to say, “If there’s a more athletic chassis in this class, we’d love to find it,” in an article comparing front-wheel drive sports coupes published in 2002.
2006: End of an Era
At the end of the seventh generation, the original run of the Celica came to a close. Toyota tried to broaden the model’s appeal during its final generation. As part of Project Genesis, changes were made in an attempt to attract younger American buyers. But cutting costs in order to make the car more affordable didn’t stop the Celica’s sales figures from sinking lower and lower. Sports coupes didn’t move numbers like they used to, and the Celica was just one casualty among many in the shifting of public taste.
2013: So Close, Yet So Far
Enthusiasts rejoiced at the news that Toyota and Subaru would be collaborating on a small, affordable sports coupe, the exact formula that made the Celica so great in the first place. However, when it was released in 2013, it was under the Scion brand as the FR-S in the US and Canada, making no attempt to revive the name. Elsewhere in the world, it was called the Toyota 86, a reference to the Celica’s earlier AE86 chassis, but it was still not called a Celica. Some say that the rear-wheel drive platform with a Subaru Boxer-4 engine was too far removed from the Celica concept to be worthy of the name. How would its popularity have been different if it was sold as a Celica? We’ll never know.
2018: Revival of the Supra
Over a decade passed with little hope that the Celica would ever return. But in 2018, the first spark lit up the eyes of enthusiasts around the world as Toyota unveiled a concept for a new GR Supra. This concept would indeed go on to become a real production model that debuted for the 2020 model year. The new Supra’s power and style made it an instant hit among critics and enthusiasts, and it’s been successful enough to return for another five straight model years with no signs of slowing. This revival has made once-despondent fans of the Celica hopeful that it, too, might one day get a new generation.
2024: Rumors & Hints
In recent years, the rumor mill has been swirling with talk of a new Celica. Toyota itself has provided the mill with plenty of raw material, with one of the most interesting hints taking the form of an easter egg in Toyota’s official anime web series (try explaining that one to a time traveler). In the first episode of the second season of GRIP: A Toyota Story, the phrase “Celica MK8” is written on a whiteboard. It’s only on screen for a fraction of a second, but scroll down to the comments and you’ll find plenty of fans making it clear that they noticed. “As a proud owner of a fifth and sixth gen celica, 0:47, I see that,” reads one such comment. This animated hint was soon followed up by an even more promising quote from a Toyota executive: “I’m not sure if it’s okay to say this in a public forum, but we’re doing the Celica.”
2027: Generation Eight?
With no confirmed details beyond an animated whiteboard and an executive who wasn’t quite sure the announcement was ready for prime time yet, there’s not much to be gained about speculating about the upcoming Celica. It’s still not even a given that it will actually make it all the way to production and out to the American market. But if we do get a new Celica, we can turn to Toyota’s recent slate of GR models, like the 86, Supra, and GR Corolla, to see what kind of power we can expect from an eighth generation. By 2027, there just might be another pony in the stable. We can’t wait to see how well it measures up to its namesake.
