2028 Toyota Celica Sport Expected To Ride On Corolla Platform

Toyota is gearing up to revive the Celica for an eighth generation after a more than two-decade hiatus.

Slotted to join the brand's growing Gazoo Racing (GR) performance umbrella, the reborn sports coupe represents the final piece of chairman Akio Toyoda's goal to bring back the "three brothers"—the historic trifecta of the Supra, MR2, and Celica.

With the Supra back on the street and development of a mid-engine MR2 underway, the Celica is next in line.

Rally Roots and WRC Ties

Fueling momentum for the return, a camouflaged test mule featuring a radical two-door silhouette was recently spotted testing for Toyota's 2027 World Rally Championship (WRC) program.

While updated 2027 WRC regulations no longer force manufacturers to strictly align rally bodywork with existing road cars, using the rally stage to launch the new Celica matches Toyota’s historic playbook. Swapping out the current GR Yaris for a low-slung coupe returns Toyota to its golden era of rallying, when the Celica ST185 and ST205 claimed back-to-back WRC titles in 1993 and 1994.

Next-Gen Corolla Architecture Meets Turbo 2.0L Power

According to a report from Autocar, the new Celica road car will borrow heavily from high-volume underpinnings—specifically the next-generation Corolla platform previewed by Toyota's recent futuristic concept cars.

Unlike the mid-engine setup being developed for the MR2, the Celica—reportedly dubbed the "Celica Sport" internally—will stick to its traditional front-engine, all-wheel-drive layout.

Toyota Celica Key Powertrain and Chassis Details

• Engine: Expected to use Toyota's newly developed 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder (G20E), currently undergoing prototype testing.
• Electrification: The road car will incorporate a self-charging hybrid setup to satisfy global emissions regulations, replacing the current GR 1.6-liter three-cylinder engine.
• Drivetrain: Standard all-wheel drive, using an evolution of the rally-derived GR-Four system found in the GR Corolla.
• Transmissions: Reports indicate Toyota is engineering both a six-speed manual and an eight-speed automatic for the coupe.

Targeting the Honda Prelude

The Celica gives Toyota a direct answer to the reborn Honda Prelude.

However, while Honda's front-wheel-drive Prelude leans toward a softer, cruiser ethos, Toyota's inclusion of high-output hybrid power, alleged manual transmission options, and all-wheel drive signals a much more aggressive performance tool.

Official launch dates remain unconfirmed, but production models are expected to debut near the end of the decade.

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