Image shows the previous Celica, not the rumored upcoming model. Image Credit: Toyota.Toyota's performance-car renaissance still has room for one particularly famous name. After disappearing from showrooms more than two decades ago, the Celica is moving closer to a comeback as the Japanese carmaker continues rebuilding a sports-car family that once defined much of its enthusiast appeal.Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda has previously spoken about resurrecting what he calls the company's "three brothers" — the Supra, MR2 and Celica — and that plan has gradually started taking shape.There's also a tantalizing motorsport connection developing in the background. Toyota has been testing its 2027 World Rally Championship contender with radically different two-door bodywork, raising the prospect of a familiar badge returning to the rally stages where it enjoyed some of its greatest success.AdvertisementAdvertisementA new report from Autocar claims the road-going car taking shape alongside those ambitions won't simply chase maximum performance. Instead, the eighth-generation Celica is expected to combine all-wheel drive and hybrid power with a relatively accessible position at the bottom of Toyota's rapidly expanding GR hierarchy.The Celica Could Become GR's Entry-Level Sports CarThe new model is reportedly known internally as the Celica Sport. Autocar says Toyota intends it to provide a less extreme entry point into its Gazoo Racing performance range, which is expanding significantly at the other end with the V8-powered GR GT supercar.Toyota is expected to follow a familiar Celica recipe by basing the coupe on relatively mainstream architecture. The next-generation Corolla, previewed by Toyota's striking concept at the 2025 Tokyo Motor Show, is considered the logical foundation.That approach could help keep costs under control while giving GR engineers room to create a considerably sportier derivative. It would also put the Celica into similar conceptual territory as Honda's Civic-based Prelude, although Toyota appears to be pursuing a more overtly performance-oriented character.A New 2.0-Liter Engine Could Provide Hybrid PowerChances are we'll find Toyota's new 2.0-liter engine under the hood, mounted at the front just as engines were in all seven previous generations. The combustion engine would form part of an electrified powertrain, although important details are still undecided.AdvertisementAdvertisementGR marketing manager Mikio Hayashi previously told Autocar that the existing 1.6-liter three-cylinder used by the GR Yaris faces future emissions challenges. He acknowledged that Toyota therefore has to consider a 2.0-liter engine, while stressing that the company hadn't finalized displacement or whether the eventual system would be hybrid or plug-in hybrid.Toyota hasn't officially confirmed the final engine, hybrid system, output or transmission, so claims of specific horsepower figures should still be treated as speculation.All-Wheel Drive Could Bring Back Some GT-Four SpiritAutocar expects the next Celica to use four-wheel drive in both road and competition forms, potentially giving Toyota's revived coupe a very different personality from the front-wheel-drive Honda Prelude.For longtime Celica fans, that immediately evokes memories of the legendary GT-Four models. Toyota used turbocharged, all-wheel-drive Celicas extensively in rallying, winning the World Rally Championship manufacturers' title in 1993 and 1994 (and was disqualified for cheating in 1995).AdvertisementAdvertisementThere is currently no indication that Toyota plans to resurrect the GT-Four badge itself. Even so, an AWD Celica potentially returning alongside a new Toyota WRC coupe would provide a satisfying connection to the nameplate's rally heritage.Toyota Hasn't Given Us A Launch Date YetToyota hasn't committed to a production timeline for the new Celica, meaning reports suggesting a 2028 showroom arrival are completely unofficial. The unusual WRC test mule could provide an earlier preview, although new 2027 regulations no longer require rally-car bodywork to correspond directly with a production model.Toyota is determined to give enthusiasts a wide selection of performance cars rather than relying on a single halo model, and a revived Celica positioned as an attainable GR coupe could become an important piece of that strategy.After more than 20 years away, the formula sounds promising: two doors, a front-mounted engine, electrification, and all-wheel drive, wrapped in a name with genuine rally history. Now Toyota just needs to show us what the eighth-generation Celica actually looks like.AdvertisementAdvertisementIf you want more stories like this, follow Guessing Headlights on Yahoo so you don't miss what's coming next.
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