La Celica Fait Son Come-back

by Robert Farago

Published: March 23rd, 2009

Here’s un peu de inside dope from France’s L’Automobile mag. Bottom line: the on-again off-again on-again off-again Toyota – Subaru rear wheel-drive car is . . . on again. And it’ll be called a Celica. Or not.

Chez Toyota, les bons et loyaux services ne sont pas toujours récompensés : après sept générations et six titres de champion du monde des rallyes, le coupé Celica a été remercié, en 2006, faute de ventes suffisantes (ci-contre, la septième et dernière génération). Mais le géant japonais s’apprête à lui donner une seconde chance. En 2010, Toyota lancera à nouveau un coupé sportif abordable, étudié par Subaru. Une information confirmée par Thierry Dombreval, vice-président des ventes et du marketing de Toyota France, dans le numéro 755 de L’Automobile Magazine.

Pour l’occasion, la lignée des Celica devrait ressusciter. Et renouer avec ses premières amours : la propulsion, employée sur les trois premières générations du coupé japonais, puis abandonnée au profit de roues avant motrices. Mais la version Turbo 4×4 (ci-contre, dans sa cinquième génération, commercialisée en 1989), à l’origine de multiples victoires en rallye, devrait également être réanimée : comme sa cousine commercialisée par Subaru, cette Celica 8 pourra en effet disposer d’une transmission intégrale. Malgré l’arrivée de la Prius 3, d’une future Auris Hybride et d’une iQ électrique, Toyota semble donc décidé à renouer avec la sportivité.

Robert Farago

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Paul_y on Mar 23, 2009

@James2: I particularly like the names that just plain don't translate well into English, like the Mitsubishi Fuso Super Great (which succeeded the Great -- it's a heavy-duty commercial truck, btw), and Mitsubishi Delica Space Gear Royal Exceed. Plus, Subaru had a Sambar model in Japan that had the ad tagline, "TOUGH X COOL," next to a picture of a Sambar with a cello in the back. I'm sure they make perfect in Japanese.

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Robert.Walter on Mar 23, 2009

@paul: good names you cite, but don't forget Mazda Laputa (laputa = whore) and Mitsubishi Pajero (pajero = wanker) as far as the translations were explaned to me.. And maybe the best name ever put on one of those Kei-segment vans, Mazda Scrum, perhaps because you are packed in so tightly that you believe you are trapped in the middle of a (rugby) scrum... we just called it the Scum Wagon.

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