Photo: Toyota
Nissan 370Z and GT-R. Subaru WRX STI and BRZ. Honda Civic Type R and NSX. Mazda MX-5 and future RX-9. Toyota GT 86 and possibly a new Celica. There’s a lot to like about Japan’s sports car onslaught. On this occasion, we’ll focus on Toyota and a recent trademark filing in the U.S. of A.
Toyota filed for “Celica” with the United States Patent and Trademark Office in 1971, with the trademark dead as of March 11, 2016. On the flipside, the automaker filed “Celica” once again on August 31, 2017, leading many motoring publications to hypothesize that a sports car is in the offing.
At the present moment, Toyota has only two passenger cars it can call sporty without sounding daft. These are the boxer-powered GT 86 - which is on its last legs considering how old it is – and the Yaris GRMN hot hatchback. If the Celica mark will be used for a production model, what would that model be?
One outcome would be to rename the GT 86 into Celica for the boxer-engined sports car’s second generation. The other would be an all-new offering, slotted below the BMW Z4-based Supra. But in comparison to the seventh-gen Celica (T230), the rumored successor would go back to basics with RWD.
Remember the S-FR Concept presented two years ago at the Tokyo Motor Show? It would be marvelous if Toyota were to put the little brawler into production, although the Celica name is far-fetched for such a small car. But then again, the segment the Mazda MX-5 dominates is pretty lucrative, the reason why Toyota could be interested in addressing this matter.
On the flip side, look at what Mitsubishi did by bringing back the Eclipse name from the dead for the Eclipse Cross. Grafting the Celica badge on a compact crossover isn’t likely from Toyota’s part, but the rumor mill works in mysterious ways. If we were to put or Mr. Sensible pants on, trademarking Celica is a way of protecting intellectual property in the United States.
And that’s that. Or is it?
At the present moment, Toyota has only two passenger cars it can call sporty without sounding daft. These are the boxer-powered GT 86 - which is on its last legs considering how old it is – and the Yaris GRMN hot hatchback. If the Celica mark will be used for a production model, what would that model be?
One outcome would be to rename the GT 86 into Celica for the boxer-engined sports car’s second generation. The other would be an all-new offering, slotted below the BMW Z4-based Supra. But in comparison to the seventh-gen Celica (T230), the rumored successor would go back to basics with RWD.
Remember the S-FR Concept presented two years ago at the Tokyo Motor Show? It would be marvelous if Toyota were to put the little brawler into production, although the Celica name is far-fetched for such a small car. But then again, the segment the Mazda MX-5 dominates is pretty lucrative, the reason why Toyota could be interested in addressing this matter.
On the flip side, look at what Mitsubishi did by bringing back the Eclipse name from the dead for the Eclipse Cross. Grafting the Celica badge on a compact crossover isn’t likely from Toyota’s part, but the rumor mill works in mysterious ways. If we were to put or Mr. Sensible pants on, trademarking Celica is a way of protecting intellectual property in the United States.
And that’s that. Or is it?
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