Time for a New Toyota Celica?

by Jason R. Sakurai

Published: January 21st, 2021

Toyota may have a new Celica in the works, according to gr86.org. While filing a trademark for Celica at this point in time seems to be rights retention more than anything, there is a trademark limitation of three years. After that time, Toyota would be required to re-apply to retain their rights to the iconic name.

Posing a question about a new Celica is one thing, while verifying it’s coming is quite another. With the Supra and the 86, Toyota has two sports or sporty cars in their current lineup already. Do sales warrant a third nameplate, or is this purely a matter of speculation?

The first generation 1971-1977 Celica, was very compact. Sporty though it may have appeared, it was underpowered, especially compared to Nissan’s 240Z. While it had a back seat, it wasn’t much more than a package tray, and you wouldn’t want to ride in it for very long. Comfort wasn’t one of its attributes.

1978-1981 marked the Celica’s second generation, with two body styles, a liftback and a coupe. The liftback’s interior was more spacious, and sales grew accordingly.

Toyota produced the third generation Celica from 1982 to 1985, this year with its distinctive hidden headlights.

The fourth generation of Celicas, 1986-1989, saw the addition of a convertible to the coupe and liftback models.

The early ’90s saw a more rounded design for the Celica, and the All-Trac Turbo’s debut. It also saw the fifth generation Celica narrowed down to a single body style.

The 1994-1999 Celica, now its sixth generation, saw the return of the convertible.

Is the seventh generation of the Celica, which was produced from 2003-2005, the end of the line? Celicas have been a part of the Toyota lineup for 34 years, attesting to their popularity. If an eighth generation Celica is coming with more evidence to substantiate its existence, you’ll hear about here.

[Images: Toyota]

#Celica #Classic #ImportPerformance #SportCompact #SportsCar #SportyCar #Toyota #Tuner

Jason R. Sakurai

With a father who owned a dealership, I literally grew up in the business. After college, I worked for GM, Nissan and Mazda, writing articles for automotive enthusiast magazines as a side gig. I discovered you could make a living selling ad space at Four Wheeler magazine, before I moved on to selling TV for the National Hot Rod Association. After that, I started Roadhouse, a marketing, advertising and PR firm dedicated to the automotive, outdoor/apparel, and entertainment industries. Through the years, I continued writing, shooting, and editing. It keep things interesting.

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Pixfrance01 on Jan 22, 2021

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Namesakeone on Jan 22, 2021

Why do I suspect that Toyota will do with the Celica (name) that Mitsubishi did with Eclipse and Ford seems prepared to do with Mustang -- try to keep the excitement of the nameplate, but put it on a more sales-friendly SUV? One just like everyone else is offering?

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