2008 Hybrid Celica CS+S

The Toyota Celica is leaving us in 2006… But in 2008, it returns as an AWD hybrid car.

From PistonHeads
According to a report in this week’s Autocar, the Japanese car giant, which recently overtook GM as the world’s biggest carmaker, is developing a mid-engined, 4WD hybrid car with four seats to replace both the MR2 and Celica. Both cars are nearing the end of their lives and will be withdrawn by mid-2006.

It could be called a Celica—that’s yet to be determined—and it will draw inspiration from the CS+S concept shown in Tokyo in 2003—see pic. However, it leaves Toyota without a high-performance motor for the time being.

A radical departure for a sports car, the machine could house a power train similar to that of the Toyota Yaris T-Sport, using a 105bhp petrol engine, as does the Prius hybrid. It’ll rev to 7,000rpm though, which, since the engine’s a VVT-i, suggests that the power will mostly be found at the top end of the rev range.  (PistonHeads)