Next-generation Toyota Celica.
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It’s been about 19 years since we saw a new Celica at a Toyota dealership. And yet, there have been many rumors over the years about a new generation coming up. Which might happen sooner than later…
(The illustration above shows what an 8th-generation Toyota Celica could look like).
Just a few days ago in Japan. Toyota’s Executive Vice President has reportedly said Toyota will make a new Celica. Mr.Toyoda himself mentioned a new Celica in 2023. And more recently there was a clue in as part of a Toyota-produced anime film called “Grip”.
Toyota is also rumored to work on a 3rd generation GR86 and even a new-generation MR-2.
For decades, the Celica was a very popular model for Toyota in the US, reaching over 106,000 units in 1986. However, things seriously dropped in the 1990s with only around 29 000 sold in 1993. It went back up when a new generation came out, with over 52,000 sold in 2000. But finally dropped all the way down to around 3000 units 5 years later after Toyota announced they would kill the Celica.
The 2-door coupe market has not improved since 2005 and I’m not sure why Toyota would spend a huge load of cash on yet another 2-door coupe since they already offer 2 models in the US. The GR86, which sold only around 11,000 units in the US in 2023. And the BMW-based Toyota Supra with 2652 units sold last year.
It would seem to anyone that introducing a third-door coupe model wouldn’t be such a great idea. And even a 4th with a new generation MR-2.
However, Honda did decide to spend money on an all-new Honda Prelude. By designing a new 2-door coupe based on the Honda Civic Hybrid.
Let’s hope a new Celica if it ever comes out, keeps true to the original recipe of a good-looking and affordable 4-seater car. “Affordable” would be the key here.
Honda seems to be on the right track with the new Prelude, already mentioned this won’t be a sports car. Which is what the Prelude used to be. And Mazda just mentioned they will produce a version of the stunning SP Sport Coupe concept we saw a few months ago.
I don’t think 2 door coupes are coming back any time soon, but it’s always fun to see someone trying…
Toyota had a good formula with the 3rd, 4th and gorgeous 5th gen Celicas. But when the 6th gen came out in ’93 with the bug eyes, sales began to tank. It was odd and ugly. So, they made the same mistake with their 7th gen Celica in 1999 that Acura would make with the redesign of the Integra (becoming the RSX DC5 in 2002) – they made it much smaller especially inside, while cheapening the quality. It now wasn’t as useful to young people who still wanted a useful in-a-pinch backseat and enough room to make it useful for their only car. Singles still have to get stuff and transport it, and both Toyota and Honda lost that beat. That same smaller-cheaper formula that drove the Civic Coupes sales downfall after the 6th gen was retired and redesigned (the awful 7th gen Civic with no DWB front debuted in 2000) is exactly where I think the new Prelude is headed – the low sales discontinued dustbin of history. I dont care that its a hybrid. Its still that too small to play in the one vehicle young singles household purchase plan. Let’s hope Toyota doesn’t follow suit. The real question is, which platform will Toyota use? The Camry, the new Corolla, or the Prius? That will determine a lot.
Is that a car or a suppository?