Revived Toyota Celica to offer hybrid power, rival Honda Prelude – report

The Toyota Celica is poised to return after more than 20 years with a hybrid powertrain aimed squarely at the recently launched Honda Prelude .

Toyota has yet to formally reveal the new generation of Celica, a two-door sports car last sold in Australia in 2005, but a Toyota North America executive confirmed in 2025 that work was under way on a model that could revive the nameplate for an eighth generation.

Since then, a camouflaged two-door prototype believed to preview Toyota’s next World Rally Championship (WRC) contender has been spotted testing ahead of its planned competition debut in 2027.

According to British outlet Autocar , the road-going Celica is tipped to use a 2.0-litre hybrid powertrain and all-wheel drive, while becoming the entry-level model for the Gazoo Racing (GR) performance sub-brand.

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That would put it up against the Honda Prelude, which returned to the Australian lineup in 2026 after 25 years as a two-door hybrid coupe based on the Honda Civic .

The Prelude uses the standard Civic’s 135kW/315Nm hybrid powertrain but borrows components including its brakes and suspension from the flagship Civic Type R – itself a rival to the Toyota GR Corolla .

In Australia, the Prelude is offered in a single model grade priced at $65,000 drive-away.

According to Autocar, the Celica will follow a similar formula by using the underpinnings of the next-generation Toyota Corolla .

The new Corolla was previewed by a concept at the Tokyo motor show in October 2025 and is expected to be unveiled later this year ahead of a 2027 launch.

At the same show, Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda outlined five core brands under the broader Toyota group: ultra-luxury marque Century, premium brand Lexus, performance division GR, budget brand Daihatsu – which isn't sold in Australia – and Toyota itself.

Toyota revealed the flagship GR GT supercar two months later, powered by a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 hybrid powertrain. It'll be joined by the GR GT3 racing car, while Toyota Australia has told CarExpert it's keen to add the road-going GR GT to local showrooms .

The Celica is expected to sit at the bottom of the GR range, though it's unclear if it'll replace the current second-generation GR86 , which entered production in 2021.

Twinned with the Subaru BRZ , the rear-wheel drive GR86 coupe uses a naturally aspirated 2.4-litre petrol four-cylinder engine, offers a manual transmission and is priced from $43,940 before on-road costs.