Rumor: Next Celica to be made by Subaru

Posted Sun Feb 3 2008 11:40 PM by Viknesh Vijayenthiran

Back in November Toyota’s German Chief Markus Schrick confirmed Toyota was working on several new sports cars including a replacement for the Celica, and now Japanese magazines are claiming the new model will arrive as early as next year. The new car is said to be the joint-effort of a collaboration between Toyota and Subaru and it will reportedly be offered in two different variants, a cheaper GT model and a high-performance AWD GT-Four.

The two carmakers have been sharing production facilities and swapping engineers ever since Toyota bought a stake in Subaru early last year and these new sports cars are likely to be the first to be spawned from the partnership. The cheaper GT version is supposed to have a target price of under $20,000, Japan’s Best Car reports, which agree with earlier reports claiming Toyota was working on an affordable successor to the 1980’s AE86. The GT will feature a conventional front-engine RWD layout and will be powered by a naturally aspirated 2.0L Subaru four-cylinder boxer engine.

The more expensive GT-Four, meanwhile, will come with AWD as standard and get the same 300hp turbo four as the Japanese spec Subaru Impreza STI. According to the source, the engine in this car will be positioned closer to the firewall to help improve handling and it could also feature in-wheel electric motors to help traction.

Both cars will come in coupe and three-door hatch bodystyles and will be sourced from Subaru’s Gunma plant in Japan. No five-door hatch will be offered as Toyota and Subaru don’t want to compete with the current Impreza range.

Via: MotorTrend

Reader Comments

Mon Feb 4 2008 1:37 PM
Eljay says

Not a bad word about Subaru,but the Celica shoudl be all Toyota! Toyota may be completely unaware of it themselves,but they do in fact have a sportscar heritage that should be preserved,not diluted.
Mon Feb 4 2008 3:06 PM
chris says

i fail to see how rebadging an STi is diluting a marque like the celica.

its a good idea.
Mon Feb 4 2008 9:39 PM
Emily says

agreed with chris, the celica now is hardly a sports car, the only thing sports car like about it is the fact that its 2 doors..awd eating machine ftw, the sti motors rock!
Tue Feb 5 2008 2:05 AM
Jayce Spiva says

AE86!!! PLEASE don't call it a celica!
Thu Feb 7 2008 9:36 PM
Anthony says

It's not going to be a Celica, it's going to be a REPLACEMENT for the Celica. If you disagree then scroll up and read the first sentence.
Thu Feb 7 2008 10:05 PM
King Kong says

I dont know why it wouldnt be called a celica. If its not being called a celica then maybe it should look diferent from a celica??? Although I have to agree on the mtr. The celica body is so light if they put 300 ponies under that hood, that things gonna fly.
Fri Mar 7 2008 8:31 AM
Joe says

This not a news anymore. Toyota want to build a sport car, a cheaper and affordable model as AE series before. And this is not secret that Subaru share its boxer engine and AWD to the project.
That of course should not be a Celica
Mon Mar 10 2008 7:35 PM
John says

Yes!. a Subota,Toyru,Tuyatu,Sobora,Tobata, Or Suyoru. Celica GT most likely to be Toyota Celica GT and Toyota Celica GT4.
i love the boxer engines centre Gravity no need to drag the pistons like most V or Inline Engines. i wish subaru would make a 32 Valve MPFI DOHC Twin Turbo H8 and non Turbo H8's
Wed Apr 9 2008 11:48 PM
john says

its defenately not a bad idea. a long time ago they had an AWD celica. now theyre thinking of coming back with it...but with an sti engine? why is that bad? i understand letting the celica live its legacy, but come on...how can you go wrong with a celica and a sti engine?

BTW, this is coming from an 05 sti owner.
Wed May 21 2008 9:45 AM
HappyHair says

You guys are missing the big picture. Call it what ever you want. Even if it's a basterization, what does it matter? If they keep the GTs weight down to say no more than 2800 lbs, it will be absolutely the best car in the american car market: Front engine, rear drive, 6 cogs, 4 seats, 2 doors, good on gas, $20K and a roof. Take your fancy pants AWD and your turbos, I want pure driving at it's most concentrated form, this is the car that the Mazda RX-8 could've been if it weren't for the Rotarys piss poor gas economy. I had an RX-8, and I loved it, but at the end of the day, it was too expensive to maintain for an average joe like me and I had to let it go. Thus I can't wait for this Toybaru. It will own.
Tue Nov 4 2008 4:47 AM
Shogun says

I just hope they're redesigning the eight-six, not just trying, to sell me the celicas base model...

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