Laying claim to an automotive nameplate takes more than just slapping a badge on a fender. Manufacturers go through the painstaking process of applying for trademarks on their badges and brands, protecting their closely held intellectual property to keep other carmakers (and any other company that could potentially try to piggyback on their name) clear
Why do we bring this up? Well, according to recent United States Patent Trademark Office (USPTO) filings, Toyota is once again set on making sure no one else can use the Celica name for anything even close to a car.
First, a quick history. Toyota first applied for the trademark for the Celica name back in 1970, when the first generation was on sale. The sports car lasted six more generations, but finally left production in 2006; Toyota, however, held onto the trademark in the U.S. until 2016, when the brand finally let it lapse. Toyota then refiled for a trademark the following year, but let it expire again in 2021. As of October 2024, however, Toyota has once again filed to claim the Celica name for what the USPTO describes as “automobiles and structural parts thereof.”
A single trademark refiling isn’t necessarily proof of the return of an extinct car — companies often try to keep their hands on valuable intellectual property rights, just in case — but’s not just the new trademark filings here in the U.S. that have us excited about the alleged resurgence of the tuner classic. Trademark filings in the States are joined by trademark registrations in Australia, according to Drive. Additionally, eagle-eyed viewers recently caught a glimpse of the Celica name listed as one of Toyota’s next-gen sports cars in Toyota’s anime series Grip, the phrase “Celica MK8” in the background of a fictional R&D facility is a to-do list of models further hinting at Toyota’s plan to bring back the coupe.
Plus, the brand has previously hinted at a Celica re-birth, building a concept model in 2021. Japan’s premier sports car gossip website, Best Car, even claimed that a new 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine was in development for a Celica and MR2 resurgence, according to its insider sources. Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda more recently mentioned an incoming-but-unnamed sports car model, too.
And of course, there’s what Toyoda said at a public event in Japan in 2023: “I want to revive the Celica.”
The Celica seems to be the one that got away for Toyota these days, and we’re really hoping to see it return — in particular, to the U.S. market. With so few details and no official confirmation, we can’t say what kind of drivetrain the alleged Celica might have; the closest possible lead might be the FT-Se EV concept and its mid-engine-esque design. Here’s hoping we find out the truth soon enough.
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