There’s no doubting Akio Toyoda’s car enthusiast credentials. Sure, he’s the kin of the world’s largest automaker, but he could’ve easily been a bean counter running a business who only cares about profits and sales figures. If you want to know the reason why Toyota has been coming up with more enthusiast-oriented models, you have Toyoda-san to thank.
Akio Toyoda, also known as Morizo, once said ‘no more boring cars’ will ever come out of his family’s company. With that, we’ve seen the birth of the LF-A, the growth of Gazoo Racing, and the revival of several models such as the 86 and Supra. And who would’ve thought Toyota would have some of the hottest hatchbacks around with the GR Yaris and GR Corolla?
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So, what’s next for Toyota? It seems that Morizo wants to bring back yet another icon from the past. That model is none other than the Toyota Celica, and he even said that during an interview for, um, Toyota Times. Well, that’s one way to tell your engineers you want a certain model made.
Hitoshi Hongo, former editor-in-chief of Best Car magazine, asked the chairman if there were any plans for a Celica revival. Toyoda initially replied in a very PR manner, saying ‘You’ll have to ask Toyota Motor about that. I’m not on the executive side’. But when Hongo asked if he’s requested for it, Toyoda said ‘Well, I have, but I don’t know what name it will come out under.’
You’d think that no one can refuse a request from Morizo, but there are many factors to consider when it comes to building and developing a new car. The automotive business is, after all, still a business. Just because they build it, it doesn’t necessarily mean people will buy it. He even joked that some people within the company are ‘sick of hearing what Morizo has to say’. Seriously, how can you not like the man?
Kidding aside, Toyoda did drop a significant clue. “I’m not just saying this because we’re at a rally event, but (Juha) Kankkunen is Mr. Celica. He was champion four times in the Celica. Now you can all have a think about why I’m using Kankkunen so much. See if you can guess!”
Of course, he’s not confirming or denying anything at the moment. But let’s just say Toyota (and Toyoda) are giving it serious thought.
