Toyota's Coupe-Bodied Rally Prototype Could Be Previewing The New Celica
Toyota is currently testing its 2027 World Rally Championship prototype car in Portugal, and it's not the GR Yaris we're used to seeing. Instead of a hatchback, it's a swoopy coupe that looks nothing like any current model. Previous discussions of the the Celica's return, along with its extensive WRC history, are causing us to wonder if this is our first look at a new Celica.
Under WRC27 regulations that take effect next year, manufacturers are allowed to drop any bodywork they wish onto the new spaceframe design. From WRC's announcement:
The regulations define a specific zone within which all bodywork panels must be located. Within this volume, manufacturers and constructors will have the freedom to scale and integrate diverse designs.
It means that a variety of car types, including saloons, hatchbacks, crossovers and bespoke designs, will be eligible. This flexibility is intended to apply over the 10-year regulation cycle through to 2037, without affecting performance.
Toyota could have done any design and body style it wanted with this new car. It could have continued with the GR Yaris. It could also have swapped to the RAV4 or another one of its small crossovers. Ford currently runs a WRC Puma crossover, and the RAV4 has seen success in NASA Rally Sport with Ryan Millen behind the wheel. Crossovers are far more popular than coupes these days, so the RAV4 would have arguably been a more sensible choice. But no, Toyota made a deliberate choice to make its WRC27 car a coupe instead of a hatchback or an SUV.
Where would it fit?
Toyota is leaning hard into sports cars these days. It has the GR86 coupe and the GR Corolla that's already like a little rally car, it will be bringing back the Supra without BMW's help, and it's even working on a mid-engine sports car that will hopefully be called the MR2. The only issue I see with adding a new Celica into the lineup is its overall similarity to the existing GR86 — unless, of course, it uses a very different sort of powertrain setup. There have been rumors the Celica could also be mid-engined, though WRC regulations would require the race car to have its engine up front.
Leaning hard into the Celica's rally heritage (though maybe not the part where it cheated) could solve that problem, making it closer to a Subaru WRX than a GR86. However, WRX sales have cratered over the past couple of years, so this may not be a good comparison. The Celica has generally had a broader appeal than more hardcore sports cars like the Supra and MR2, likely because it was more affordable and practical. Bringing that back would make sense, especially since cars are so expensive these days.
Still, we don't know for sure if this is previewing the Celica, or if it's something else entirely. We know Toyota is working on a new coupe "that could theoretically go by the Celica name," as Toyota North America's Vice President of Product Planning and Strategy said last year, a name that has been all but confirmed in other conversations. WRC's bodywork regulations permit bespoke designs, so Toyota could be using this coupe to evoke nostalgia for rally Celicas without a corresponding production model, or perhaps to further gauge interest in one. It wouldn't be the first time Toyota has faked us out recently. But I miss swoopy coupes, and I'd love to see the Celica return in some form other than a competent but unexciting crossover.