Rumors that Toyota is considering the possibility of developing a sports car “with the DNA” of the iconic Celica appeared back in the spring of this year. Then Koji Sato, appointed to the post of president of Toyota on April 1, 2023, said, “I would like to see a successor to the Celica in the current model range of the brand.” Now the Toyota Times has again touched on the topic of reviving the model, and the British Autocar has published a rendering of a sports car from an independent artist.
Sato’s desires apparently coincide with the desires of his predecessor, and now the chairman of the board of the corporation, Akio Toyoda. If the project is given the green light, Toyota will begin developing an electric sports car – a successor to the Celica, but it may not inherit the legendary name. For now, all we know is that by 2026 inclusive, 10 new battery-powered Toyota models will hit the market, and one of them will actually be a sports car.
In May, Toyota published a slide from its development strategy: a sports car was announced in a segment labeled Sports. But then it was not completely clear under which brand the electric car would go on sale – Toyota or Lexus. If the model debuts with Toyota nameplates, then the company may well position it as a revived Celica. And if it is Lexus, then the prototype for it will be the no less iconic LFA.
Both of these models will probably be put into development. So, there are already some details about the Lexus sports car. According to insider information, the successor to the LFA may first take the form of a plug-in hybrid and then become fully electric. The new product is predicted to have a TNGA GA-L platform and a hybrid installation, which will include a 4.0-liter V8 and an electric motor with a total power of 937 horsepower. However, these are just rumors for now.
New electric sports cars
