Toyota has had a fair share of exciting sports cars in the past, and while some of them have successfully made a comeback, such as the Supra, there are still some that could really use a return to the spotlight. We’re talking about the Toyota Celica and MR2, and the automaker may have hinted at their return in the most unconventional way: in an anime.
Toyota
Toyota is a Japanese automaker founded in 1937 that has developed a reputation for reliability across a multitude of segments, from sports cars and family sedans to pickup trucks and off-roaders. Famous models from the brand include the Hilux, Land Cruiser, Camry, Crown, and Corolla, the latter being the world’s best-selling vehicle nameplate, with more than 50 million Corolla-badged vehicles being sold since it was first introduced. Toyota typically competes in the mainstream market, but is also famous for launching Lexus as a luxury sub-brand to take on Mercedes-Benz.
- Founded
- August 28, 1937
- Headquarters
- Aichi, Japan
- Founder
- Kiichiro Toyoda
- Owned By
- Publicly Traded
- Current CEO
- Koji Sato
In an episode of Toyota USA’s one-minute anime series, Grip, a whiteboard was shown with interesting markings on it. Specifically, the following were written on the board: “Supra Mk6,” “Celica Mk8,” “MR2 Mk4,” “GR 86 Mk3,” and “GR GT3.” The last one was the name of the concept car that was supposed to preview the LFA successor, while the others are future iterations of current Toyota sports cars. The designations of the MR2 and Celica, meanwhile, were their future iterations if they were to return to Toyota’s lineup. Interestingly, the anime’s episode was entitled Who’s Next.
The Return Of The Celica And MR2?
Rumors about the Celica and MR2’s return have been circulating since time immemorial, but Toyota has yet to confirm any speculations about them. The Japanese automaker knows how to ride the hype, though, and this appearance in an anime series could just be one of them. Still, we couldn’t help but be excited and wish for a tinge of truth from these hints, especially with the fact that Toyota’s chairperson, Akio Toyoda, wants this to happen himself.
Add CarBuzz to your Google News feed.
Related
Toyota Will Continue To Build Sports Cars With Help From Other Car Brands
It’s the only way the Japanese automaker can continue to make performance vehicles.
This isn’t far-fetched, though, as Toyota has confirmed that it will continue to build sports cars. This will entail the automaker working with other brands, though, but at least there’s hope for exciting Toyota-branded machines in the future, regardless of which company it will be working with.
Future GR Sports Cars
But what about the Toytoa GR Supra? While there were earlier reports that the GR Supra, which is built alongside the BMW Z4, would suffer the same fate as the open-top German roadster, subsequent reports claimed otherwise and confirmed that the six-pot sports car will live on. This hint, no matter how odd, was practically Toyota doubling down on its commitment to keep the Supra name alive.
Related
Toyota Supra 2.0: The Underappreciated Four-Pot Supra
Underappreciated or just unnecessary? We find out whether the GR Supra 2.0 is worth your time, or not.
As for the GR 86, the Subaru BRZ twin is still fresh with the second-generation model’s introduction in 2021. We could expect the next generation in the next five years, so yes, Toyota is probably in the development stages of the relatively affordable coupe. Of note, many of the future-tense statements here aren’t concrete confirmation but rather informed insights based on previous reports, so take them with a grain of salt.
News Summary:
- Toyota Hints At Possible Celica And MR2 Revival In A Weird Way
- Check all news and articles from the latest Tech updates.
- Please Subscribe us at Google News.