- A Japanese auto mag says it got Hiroki Nakajima, Toyota VP of Product, to confirm the upcoming Celica’s return
- The exec quickly tried to walk back his comments, and so there are no other details about the car
- Rumours of the Celica’s return have been swirling for a while, and we think it could be a great foil for the upcoming Honda Prelude
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It isn’t often an executive from a major car brand intentionally spills the beans on future product — but the crew at Toyota apparently did just that during a stage event at Tokyo Stadium over the weekend. Are you ready for a Celica to once again prowl Toyota showrooms?
The revelation came during a session on Saturday in which a representative from an outlet in Japan called Best Car flat-out asked the assembled executives if Toyota will once again make the Celica. Following a few chuckles and tossing of the question, Hiroki Nakajima, Vice President in charge of products at Toyota, replied “Celica, I’ll do it!” During the conversation, Vice-President Nakajima said, “To be honest, there is no shadow or shape right now. However, there is a lot of people looking forward to Celica within the company.” Thank you, Google Translate, for interpreting that event’s transcription.
This is all further reinforcement of our belief that having a gearhead at (or near) the helm of a major automaker vastly increases the likelihood of entertaining vehicles springing forth from the brand (and cements rumours we’d heard earlier this year about the Celica’s possible return). It is well known that chairman Akio Toyoda has nitrous oxide in his blood, and has directly influenced and fostered a corporate atmosphere in which a resurgence of fun at the Toyota brand has been possible. A new Celica will further that endeavour.
What will the new Celica entail? History teaches us it will probably be preceded by the “GR” moniker, and is likely to be a two-door coupe. It makes us happy Toyota has yet resisted the temptation to apply a historic name onto a vehicle which bears no resemblance to its historical shape (unlike Chevy’s Blazer, Mitsubishi’s Eclipse Cross, et al) which is why we deeply doubt the brand will slap the Celica name onto a crossover. However, electrification is fair game at this point, especially since cars like the forthcoming Honda Prelude will have some measure of hybridization under their bonnets.
While this announcement was something of an impromptu declaration, with at least one other assembled exec injecting a note of caution into the conversation, a case can be made for adding a third sporty coupe to Toyota’s expansive lineup. Honda has the aforementioned Prelude in the oven; the Supra plays in a completely separate price bracket; and the naturally-aspirated non-turbo GR86 would provide a different driving experience should the Celica incorporate either (or both) of those features into its powertrain.
There’s just one point of clarity: do you pronounce it ‘suh-leek-ah’ or ‘sell-eck-ah’? Let us know in the comments section.
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