REPORT: Toyota reviving Celica name for joint Subaru RWD car
The last report about the on again/off again sports car being developed jointly by Toyota and Subaru was that it's on again. Today comes word from L'Automobile in France that not only is the rear-wheel-drive Toyubaru going to happen, but it will arrive bearing the Celica name sometime in 2010. If Wikipedia is to be believed, this would be the eighth generation of the Celica, which traces its roots all the way back to 1970 when it debuted in Japan as an inexpensive rear-wheel-drive sports car. Through the years it switched to front- and all-wheel drive, with the final seventh generation Celica sold from 2000 - 2005 being a strict cart puller. L'Automobile claims that Thierry Dombreval, Toyota's VP of sales and marketing in France, spilled the beans on reviving the Celica name, so we won't consider this news solid until a second source comes forward or Toyota officially confirms it, neither of which is likely to happen. So for now all you Celica fans should just sit tight and light a few candles for your cause.
Gallery: 2005 Toyota Celica GT-S
[Source: L'Automobile via 4WheelsNews via Jalopnik]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
mapoftazifosho 10:06AM (3/23/2009)
If this isn't true, it would behoove Toyota to make it so...
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wilbonnet 10:59AM (3/23/2009)
i am really tired of this thing already
... i don't care anymore
Ill stick w/ the genesis and save myself some grief
nighttime__ 12:54PM (3/23/2009)
i'm desperate for something decent to come to Toyota I am and have been a big fan for years! I don't care how long it takes! I'll just save up in the time being! if it doesn't come to fruition then I'll just buy a Zamboni and call it a day.
tekd 4:26PM (3/24/2009)
This thing is going to be so much lighter than the Genesis they're not even going to be in the same class of cars.
I have serious doubts that it'll get here by 2010, but if that's true then I'm very excited.
Here's hoping for a higher output version slapped with the Supra name, bwahahaha.
Serge 10:11AM (3/23/2009)
I'm guessing the performance version will be called the Celica Supra???
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mohamed 4:23AM (3/24/2009)
no i guess celica AE86
chconline 10:17AM (3/23/2009)
Toyubaru: announced Monday, canceled Thursday or Friday.
Hey today's Monday, what a coincidence!
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Jakesnake1294 10:18AM (3/23/2009)
Wasn't this canceled a long time ago?
superman211 12:26PM (3/23/2009)
I know! So annoying!
Katie Perry song. You change your mind like girl changes clothes.
MikeofLA 10:19AM (3/23/2009)
No longer getting my hopes up... Don't care anymore until I see it in metal, even a concept would be acceptable.
Toyota ruined a lot of it's early good will towards this car.
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Tourian 11:53AM (3/23/2009)
If these were normal economic times, I would agree with you. But if these were normal economic times, this post wouldn't even be here, the car would be out already and we'd be reading a comparo of it versus the Genesis, the new Silvia and maybe something else. Actually, Toyota would probably still be the last to the party. But my point is, you can't blame any company these days for being nervous about introducing a niche car. The stakes are way too high and nobody can afford a blunder, not even Toyota.
BoxerFanatic 10:23AM (3/23/2009)
Interesting...
I figured they wouldn't put the Corolla name on it (AE86 was a corolla variant, IIRC)
Celica seems like a good fit, although Toyota guys might bemoan it having a subaru engine, rather than an I4...
I wonder if that means that the bodystyle will be a 3-door liftback, with a sleek profile. (fastback, rather than boxy hatchback, as some Celicas were.)
I wonder what the Subaru model name will be, if it will be closely tied to Impreza, or if it will be treated somewhat like it's own line, parallel to Impreza.
Here's hoping the REAL performance version wears the Pleiades and STI badges, and as such, is properly equipped, with turbo, 3-diff AWD, Bilsteins, Brembos, and all the rest, and then actually looks sleek and sexy at the same time. :D
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Serge 10:41AM (3/23/2009)
Do you want fries with that???
hashiryu 1:19PM (3/23/2009)
The RA22 will be back baby, and as you are hoping for a version with an STi badge, I'm hoping for one with a GT-4 badge on it too.
Affalterbach 12:19AM (3/24/2009)
I'm hoping for a 22B flavor of this. Maybe the next Impeza could be made a lot more sporty.
artandcolour 10:33AM (3/23/2009)
i owned a new '83 and '85 Celica GT-S back in the day, the 4 cylinder 'wide body' with RWD, IRS, 4 wheel discs, pump-up seats etc. i was very disappointed when Toyota switched to FWD and never bought another one. i'm not sure this is much of a priority with Toyota right now, but with the RWD Genesis coupe out now, when was the last time Toyota left an exploitable niche to a competitor?
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Serge 10:40AM (3/23/2009)
Yeah, this will outsell the GenCoupe just because it hints at having ties to the Supra...
Scott K. 10:55AM (3/23/2009)
When was the last time Toyota left an unexploited niche? Well, since the last Celica (and Supra and MR2), Toyota has had no presence in the sports/sporty car market. Aside from the new Lexus IS-F, the closest they have to a sporty car are the tC and a Camry with a v6...
André 10:32AM (3/23/2009)
If it'll be Celica, at least they won't water down the AE86 legacy and also open a slot for a true Hachi-Roku successor based on Toyota underpinnings (and below this Celica). And Scion tC's days are numbered...
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Rob 10:57AM (3/23/2009)
What does a FWD Scion TC have to do with this? If anything it'll be a competitor to the Genesis Coupe.