SPIED: Is this the next-gen Toyota GR Celica rally car?

Toyota really likes to keep things under wraps and give surprises to its fans.

This time, a mysterious two-door coupe rally car was spotted doing gravel surface testing in Europe, wearing Toyota Gazoo Racing’s signature camouflage red and black livery. With the GR Corolla and GR Yaris having hatchback body styles, this could be Toyota’s soft launch of the much-awaited GR Celica as its next WRC challenger.

Other publications such as DirtFish has verified that the images, along with the videos of the mystery prototype were not AI generated, and thus the coupe rally car is indeed legit.

For those who are not familiar, the World Rally Championship is going to have new regulations for 2027, which allows manufacturers to place any bodywork they want over a defined spaceframe chassis, as long as the body shell adheres to the maximum dimensions allowed in the regulations.

While the road-going GR Celica could reportedly have a mid-engine layout with the M20A-FKS 2.0-liter, four-cylinder turbo, the rally version is likely to feature the current 1.6-liter, four-cylinder turbo being used by the GR Yaris Rally1, and mounted transversely in front.

This is the very first time the prototype was seen out in the wild, so it’s still unclear how close it will be to the final product that will compete in the WRC next year, and its similarities to the road-going GR Celica.