Toyota is considering a 2.0-litre hybrid powertrain for its highly anticipated new Celica, which Autocar has been told could be named the Celica Sport.
The Japanese marque officially confirmed the Celica’s return at the 2024 Rally Japan, when then-vice-president Yuki Nakajima told spectators “We’re making the Celica!”.
Speculation mounted again earlier this month when what appeared to be the new sports coupé was spotted being shaken down in Portugal ahead of the 2027 World Rally Championship.
Now Autocar has been told the car is being referred to as the Celica Sport, while a Toyota spokesperson confirmed that it will have four-wheel drive.
Revealing to Autocar details about the car’s potential powertrain, Gazoo Racing marketing manager Mikio Hayashi said: “The displacement size of 1.6 litres [used in the GR Yaris], for example, cannot meet emission regulations. So we have to consider the possibility of a 2.0-litre.
“We are thinking about various sizes, but we are not at a stage where we can tell you exactly what size it is. Nothing has been decided yet about whether it will be a standard hybrid or plug-in hybrid.”
Pressed on a timeframe for the new 2.0-litre engine, Hayashi remained coy. “We are continuing to develop that. We have high expectations,” he said. “We cannot point to a timeline but can say we are making steady progress.”
Autocar reported last year that Toyota was priming a new hybrid powertrain for its GR models in an effort to give its sporting sub-brand a new lease of life in an era of strict emissions regulations.
This system will be based around a new turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine, which for the next generation of its sports cars will likely have a 2.0-litre capacity.
This features a shorter piston stroke than Toyota’s current engines, making it smaller and lighter. This is important, because a hybrid element can be fitted with minimal weight penalty compared with existing GR cars.
German publication Auto Motor und Sport has also reported that the engine could produce 600bhp or more when fitted with a suitably large turbocharger.
As well as the Celica, the new engine could eventually find its way into the GR Yaris, European sales of which have been restricted by increasingly stringent emissions legislation.
The Celica’s revival aligns with Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda’s long-stated desire to reunite the brand’s “three brothers”: the Supra, Celica and MR2.
With the Supra having returned to showrooms in 2019 and Toyota stating to Autocar that it will “have to continue to look at customer demand” for the MR2, the Celica is next in line to make a comeback.
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