The 2027 Toyota Celica has been photographed for the first time ahead of its official reveal as a showroom model, and its competition debut in the World Rally Championship (WRC) in 2027.
Toyota is yet to officially announce the return of the Celica nameplate – a Honda Prelude rival last sold here in 2005 – despite previous comments from a Toyota North America executive letting slip the company was looking to bring the name back.
Yet world-leading motorsport website DirtFish has published images of a new two-door coupe rally car being tested by Toyota, with the automaker set to ditch the GR Yaris as its WRC contender from 2027.
New regulations for that year allow a ‘road car body’ to be draped over a spaceframe using the current GR Yaris Rally2 car’s mechanical package, suggesting the coupe carving up dusty roads in the Algarve is destined for showrooms.
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The important wording is ‘road car’, meaning a production model body, although the 2027 rally cars do not have to strictly be road models.
Toyota Australia wouldn’t comment when approached by CarExpert on whether a Celica is set for production, or if it would be sold here.
“At this point in time we are already running our prototype test car,” Toyota technical director Tom Fowler told DirtFish.
“The design team are concentrating on all of the feedback that’s coming from that car and working around issues and improvements.
“The original target was to start running the car in 2026. We met that target. The car has been running for a few tests already and it’s definitely done more than 2000 kilometers. I can’t tell you the exact figure.”
The report included video footage with the same familiar engine note as the current Yaris rally car, but with a body design echoing that of the Toyota FT-Se concept car shown at the 2024 Tokyo motor show.
While it was described as tapping the spirit of Gazoo Racing (GR) — the brand’s performance and racing division, which is now one of Toyota’s five pillars — it was revealed with an electric powertrain, clearly not used in the car running in Portugal.
The Celica is one of several new sports cars anticipated as part of Toyota’s stronger emphasis on performance models, with the return of another name — the MR2 — also speculated.
This follows tests of a Yaris with a mid-mounted powertrain – the previous MR2 name reflecting its mid-mounted 2.0-litre petrol engine – and the registration of the GR MR2 and GR MR-S (MR-S being the third-generation MR2’s name in Japan) trademarks in Australia.
Gazoo Racing also pulled the covers off the GR GT in December 2025 alongside a GT3 racing version, positioning it as its halo sports car — the fastest and most powerful showroom model to wear a Toyota badge.
Toyota Australia has expressed interest in the GR GT for local showrooms following its expected 2027 release in Japan.
Production of the GR Supra, a restyled twin of the BMW Z4, ends in March 2026, with a V8-powered version making its debut in the Repco Supercars Championship in Australia and set to race in the iconic Bathurst 1000 endurance race this October.