New Toyota Celica: what we know, and why the old Celicas still matter

Toyota has said it is working on a new Celica, but as of late October 2026 it has not shown the car, given it an official name or a date, or confirmed a single specification. What we have is a handful of on-record comments from Toyota people, a detailed Autocar report from 28 August, and a two-door rally prototype Toyota is testing for the 2027 World Rally Championship. Here is what is confirmed, what is only reported, and what aero fits the older Celicas today.

What Toyota has actually said

Three things come from Toyota people on the record:

• November 2024, Rally Japan: Toyota executive Hiroki Nakajima told a crowd on stage that there was no car to show yet, then added, in English translations of the Japanese report, "Celica, we're doing it!" Chairman Akio Toyoda was more careful and told the audience not to believe everything they read.
• June 2025: Cooper Ericksen, who leads product planning at Toyota North America, told MotorTrend: "We are working on a product that could theoretically go by the Celica name". He said it was in "pretty advanced development", but it had not been approved for production.
• 2026, the rally car: Toyota technical director Tom Fowler has talked about the new 2027 rally car's testing and homologation, but Toyota has not named it or said which road car it is based on.

Toyota has not confirmed the engine, drivetrain, price, reveal date or markets.

What has been reported: engine, platform and four-wheel drive

Autocar's report went up on 28 August 2026, the same day UK searches for the Celica peaked: over the last 90 days Google Trends gives "toyota celica" an average of 36, against 18 for "honda prelude". Autocar reported that:

• the car is referred to internally as the Celica Sport and would be the eighth generation, as the entry model in a GR line-up topped by the V8 GR GT;
• it is expected to share its underpinnings with the next Corolla;
• it is expected to use the 2.0 litre engine from the GR Yaris M concept, mounted at the front and part of a hybrid system;
• it is expected to be four-wheel drive in road and rally form, although there is no sign of the GT-Four name coming back.

Autocar also quoted Mikio Hayashi of Toyota's GR division saying that the current 1.6 litre three-cylinder "cannot meet emissions regulations" and that a 2.0 litre is being considered. He said no decision had been made between a hybrid and a plug-in hybrid. Power figures online, often around 400 hp, come from other reports, not Toyota. A manual gearbox is not confirmed either.

The 2027 rally prototype

Images of a new two-door Toyota rally car testing in Portugal appeared in February 2026. Tom Fowler said then: "The original target was to start running the car in 2026. We met that target." By August, DirtFish reported more than 5,000 km of testing and Fowler described the car as being in its "final evolution", the specification Toyota intends to homologate with the FIA. Ott Tänak has done much of the driving.

The latest sighting, reported by Carscoops on 30 September, was on asphalt stages near Tarragona in Spain. The photos show a big front intake, wide arches, thick side skirts and a fixed rear wing on a fastback tail. Toyota has not confirmed that it will be called a Celica.

Do not read the rally car as the road car. Autocar says the 2027 WRC rules no longer tie the bodywork to a current road car and require a 1.6 litre engine, so the two may share a name and a look but not the engine, width or hardware.

When will it be revealed, and is it coming to the UK?

Nobody outside Toyota knows. Autocar wrote that Toyota "has not yet committed to a timeline". CarBuzz, on 3 October, expected a launch some time in 2027, possibly as a 2028 model year car in the US, which is the outlet's own estimate. No UK price or UK availability has been reported, and when CarExpert asked Toyota Australia in February, the company would not say whether the car would be sold there.

Why the old Celicas still matter

For tuners the Celica name means one thing first: the GT-Four, the turbocharged four-wheel-drive Celica built for rallying, with the 2.0 litre 3S-GTE engine in all three generations.

Model	Built	WRC highlights
ST165 (4th generation)	1986 to 1989	Carlos Sainz, 1990 drivers' title
ST185 (5th generation)	1989 to 1993	Drivers' titles for Sainz (1992), Juha Kankkunen (1993) and Didier Auriol (1994); manufacturers' titles 1993 and 1994
ST205 (6th generation)	1994 to 1999	One WRC win before Toyota was banned for a year over an illegal turbo restrictor in 1995

To homologate the ST205, Toyota built about 2,500 road cars with extras for the rally car, including a small spoiler on the bonnet and a taller rear spoiler on raised mounts.

This customer car is a sixth-generation (T200) Celica, the generation with four round headlights. It runs a body-coloured lip under the factory bumper and a vented bonnet. More Toyotas are in our customer car gallery.

The seventh generation, the T230, was built from July 1999 to April 2006 and is the last Celica so far. It was front-wheel drive only, with no GT-Four; the top 1.8 litre 2ZZ-GE engine made 192 PS in Europe. It was facelifted in 2002 with a new front bumper and rear lights, so check which bumper you have before buying front parts.

What aero fits an older Celica today

We will be straight about our range. Our one Celica-specific part is the Toyota Celica MK6 ducktail spoiler, made for the sixth-generation liftback. The photo below shows it on a T200 liftback, where it sits on the edge of the tailgate. The coupé and convertible have a different boot lid, so ask us before ordering for one of those.

Everything else that fits a Celica is universal, which suits the T230 too. You can find them all in our Celica category:

• Rear wing: the 160 cm universal GT wing, with three bracket types and leg heights from 20 to 45 cm, for the ST205 look or a track build. Check our guide to body kit and wing legality in the UK first.
• Wider arches: universal 50 mm fender flares, four pieces that add 50 mm per side, if you are running wider wheels.
• Rear bumper: Varis style side diffusers, our own design in the style of the Varis originals, supplied with universal brackets.
• Front: a universal lip or splitter from our lips and splitters range, trimmed to follow your bumper. Read our front splitter guide before you choose how far it sticks out.

Fibreglass parts come unpainted and usually need preparation, painting and fitting, and we recommend a professional garage. Not sure a part suits your Celica's year or body? Contact us before you order.

FAQ

Is Toyota bringing back the Celica?

Toyota people have said so on the record: an executive said "Celica, we're doing it!" at Rally Japan in November 2024, and Toyota North America described the project as in advanced development in June 2025. Toyota has not yet shown the car or confirmed production.

When will the new Toyota Celica be revealed?

Toyota has not given a date. Autocar reported in August 2026 that Toyota had not committed to a timeline, and most outlets expect news in 2027.

Will the new Celica be four-wheel drive?

Autocar reported that it is expected to be four-wheel drive, with a 2.0 litre engine as part of a hybrid system. Toyota has not confirmed the engine or the drivetrain.

Will the new Toyota Celica be sold in the UK?

Nothing has been announced. No UK price or UK availability has been reported as of late October 2026.