Toyota Files New Trademark for 'GR Celica' in Brazil

Yahoo

11-02-2025

Toyota hasn't exactly been sneaky about the strong chances of a reborn Celica model. U.S. New trademark filings for the nameplate were discovered back in November, shortly before Toyota vice-president Yuki Nakajima reportedly told journalists, 'We will make the Celica.' And while we've yet to hear anything official, we now have yet another piece of evidence to share — this time via a trademark filing for a "GR Celica" model in Brazil.
The news comes by way of Australia's Drive, which located the trademark application that was filed last month. The filing, Process Number 937665010, has yet to be accepted by the Brazilian government, as it's awaiting an opposition filing deadline. That said, there's no real reason to assume that the automaker won't be awarded the trademark.
"Gazoo Racing" branding has already been applied to all of Toyota's performance-oriented models around the globe, including the GR Supra, GR 86, GR Corolla, and GR Yaris for those outside of the States. (Note that R&T was unable to locate any similar trademark filings for the US market at this time, but that doesn't rule out a future filing, or one working its way through the system.)
Given the Celica's long history in motorsport, we'd be amazed to see it return without receiving the GR treatment. The model's previous success with the GT-Four all-wheel drive trim makes it a natural fit for the brand's current GR-Four system, and with rear-drive offerings well-represented by the GR 86 and Supra, we'd expect the Celica to adopt front- or all-wheel-drive as in previous generations. Reports out of Japan suggest that the reborn icon will adopt a new variant of the brand's turbocharged 2.0-liter four-pot; hopefully, a manual gearbox is also a part of the equation.
With all of the noise surrounding the Celica nameplate, we would be shocked if Toyota doesn't make some official comment in the coming months. That said, it's always important to remember that trademark and patent filings aren't always a great indicator of future product. Considering a new version could potentially turn out to be one of the best small cars on sale, however, you can be sure we'll keep you updated on the Celica's return as soon as we have something concrete — or another piece of news that's too good to pass up.
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