- Toyota is thought to be reviving the Celica as a mid-engined 400 hp weapon.
- Gazoo Racing’s motorsport expertise has helped it develop exciting road cars.
- Influence from the GR division will also help Lexus launch the new LFR supercar.
Toyota’s performance car ambitions have come a long way since the Supra was revived thanks to its partnership with BMW in 2019. Since then, its Gazoo Racing division has grown significantly, leading to the creation of the critically acclaimed GR Yaris and GR Corolla hot hatches. Now, with the Supra on its last legs, Toyota has revealed that if it wants to build a new sports car, it could do it alone, without having to partner with another carmaker.
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The brand first partnered with Subaru to launch the original GT 86 back in 2012, then collaborated with BMW for the new Supra, and again with Subaru on the second-generation GR 86. However, when recently asked if Toyota could go it alone, the company’s Australian Sales and Marketing boss said it may, but failed to confirm if plans for such a new model are in the works.
Read: How Toyota Plans To Keep The GR Celica And Supra From Overlapping
“The answer is yes; we can do this on our own,” Hanley told Drive. “This is what GR is about, this is exactly what GR is about. But having said that, we learned a lot, and will learn a lot, through our partnerships and BMW, they build some seriously good cars, so we don’t take a step back from that relationship at all – it was a good collaboration where we learned an incredible amount about performance cars.”
“To answer your question, ‘can I ever see a day where we do our own independent, standalone Toyota Gazoo Racing sports performance car?’ Yes, yes, and yes,” he added. “You’ll have to wait and see.”
Hanley offered no indication as to whether a new sports car could serve as a next-generation version of the Supra, or perhaps an all-new model. However, he did acknowledge that “Supra has an incredibly strong legacy statement,” and that “you never say never” to resurrecting the Supra brand.
Interestingly, there have been plenty of reports indicating that Toyota has already given the green light to a new generation of Supra, potentially launching as soon as 2027. What’s more, recent reports have suggested that Toyota is preparing to revive the Celica nameplate with a new GR model rocking a mid-engined setup with all-wheel drive and producing around 400 hp.
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