Toyota Uses New Anime Episode to Hint at Return of the Celica and MR2
... as well as an eight-generation Toyota Celica and a fourth-generation Toyota MR2.
The blink-and-you-miss-it image comes at the 0:47 mark of the first episode in the series's second season. Tucked next to Master Rugu — our protagonist's mentor in a driving fight against autonomous racers — sits a white board. Listed on that board are several new Toyota models, including a sixth-gen Supra, a third-gen GR 86, the aforementioned eighth-gen Celica and fourth-gen MR2, as well as a GR GT3 car.
While Toyota has yet to officially confirm that all of these models are slated for production, the GR department has a knack for these types of teasers. (The run up to the GR Corolla debut here in the United States was just one example of those shenanigans.)
The seventh-generation Toyota Celica left production back in 2006, but the automaker stopped exporting them to North American markets back in 2005. Similarly, the MR2 Spyder left the American market for the 2005 model year due to lagging sales. Toyota would continue to sell the car through 2007 in other markets, but we haven't seen a midship runabout since.
Toyota has since shown a two-seat sports car concept. back in 2021, with the automaker's CEO further committing to the future of the sports car segment just last year. The recent FT-Se Concept could also point to how Toyota could leverage electrification to bring these fan-favorite icons back to the masses.
Toyota has yet to speak publicly about its plans for the Supra or the GR86 after this current generation, but that isn't surprising, given the co-development involved with both products. The Supra should be due for its replacement first, given that the revived icon first arrived in 2019. Neither the Supra nor the BMW Z4 have sold all that well, but that doesn't mean we won't see the car live on. As for the GR 86, reports have swirled since June 2024 that a new one is inbound for 2028, adopting a hybridized and turbocharged powertrain.
Toyota previously highlighted the aforementioned GR GT3 concept back in 2022. It's expected that that car will arrive as successor to the Lexus LFA, with a prototype model recently being captured testing at the Nürburgring. While we don't have many concrete details on the project yet, the car looks awesome pounding around the Green Hell — and it sure sounds like it has a V-8, too.
Obviously, The Simpsons aside, what happens in cartoons doesn't predict the future — but Toyota didn't pay animators to fill that whiteboard with nonsense. Whether or not all of these projects come to fruition remains to be seen, but we're excited to learn what is to come. The world needs more sports cars, and we're happy to see a company like Toyota take up the charge.
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