Toyota Celica name trademarked

Days after a future Toyota Celica was hinted at within an anime cartoon created by the Japanese car giant – alongside future MR2, Supra, GR86, and GR GT3 models – further evidence has emerged of the model's potential comeback.

A trademark filing unearthed by Drive shows Toyota has registered the Celica name, suggesting there may be plans afoot to revive the beloved nameplate.

While car makers routinely trademark names to protect them from being used elsewhere, the timing of this trademark application is particularly interesting, given the growing unconfirmed reports out of Japan of the Celica's return.

The Celica was produced by Toyota from 1970 to 2006, but the company appears to be on a mission to revive its most fun and iconic historic models – following the reintroduction of the AE86 in the form of the 86 and now GR86, along with Supra, which now reside under the Gazoo Racing performance banner.

These digital illustrations by artist Theottle, created for Drive, provide an idea of what a future Celica could look like (top and bottom of page).

In May 2023, Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda openly spoke about his love of the Celica model at a public event in Japan, to which Toyota President Koji Sato responded: "I want to revive the Celica".

Less than six months later, at Rally Hokkaido, Mr Toyoda suggested the company had a sports car in development – but declined to name the model.

"I’m not just saying this because we’re at a rally event, but Kankkunen is Mr Celica. He was champion four times in the Celica," Mr Toyoda said in a translated statement to the Toyota Times – the company's internal magazine.

"Now you can all have a think about why I’m using Kankkunen so much. See if you can guess!"

Earlier this year, Japanese magazine Best Car – known for having insider information at Toyota – reported a new 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine was in development, and would be fitted to future Celica and MR2 models.

A video released by Toyota Time showed a prototype – possibly a Lexus IS sedan – being driven with the new 2.0-litre engine. It was later estimated the engine produced an estimated 300kW.

Another Japanese publication, Karuma News, issued a report claiming the new-generation Toyota HiLux was set to receive the new 2.0-litre turbo engine, making approximately 224kW.

One Toyota engineer is said to have compared the turbocharged four-cylinder to the 3.0-litre '2JZ' six-cylinder, which rose to fame as the twin-turbo engine fitted to the Supra of the 1990s – popularised in The Fast and The Furious film.

While nothing has been confirmed by Toyota at this stage, evidence is mounting of a Celica project currently in development behind closed doors.

Ben Zachariah is an experienced writer and motoring journalist from Melbourne, having worked in the automotive industry for more than two decades. Ben began writing professionally more than 15 years ago and was previously an interstate truck driver. He completed his MBA in Finance in early 2021 and is considered an expert on classic car investment.

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