The Toyota Celica was a true classic from the world’s most popular car maker, so when the company is working on a revision and reintroduction of the icon, it’s no wonder that the motoring world gets a little excited.

The new “low-cost sports car” will be produced in a joint venture between Subaru and Toyota, with each company selling its own badged version on a shared rear-wheel-drive platform with a Subaru horizontally opposed 4-cylinder engine. Both company’s models are expected to come in at a ticket price of less than $20,000.

The joint venture was first announced back in April 2008, when Toyota’s CEO Katsuaki Watanabe said: “We haven’t had a sports car for a long time. This is a long-awaited-for model.”

That’s something of an understatement for those of us who loved the design and styling of the various versions of the old Celicas. Toyota hasn’t had a true sports car since it dropped the Celica and the mid-engine MR2 Spyder convertible in 2005.

Specifically what the new car offers in detail remains to be seen, but the overall concept is reportedly based on a youth study group aimed at appealing to the all-important youth market. The new sports coupe will be a compact, which aims to deliver a sleek look, and tight, precise handling. The Celica will also give the kind of excellence in mpg figures that are more or less compulsory in today’s competitive and cost conscious market where customers’ choice is ever-widening via hybrids, electric cars and alternative fuels.

The new car is rumoured to be a sloping roofed hatch, with a slightly larger footprint than the front-drive Acura RSX coupe / Honda Integra. It looks likely to be a four seater, in the style of the old Celicas on a two plus two basis (two large front seats and two cosy rear seats which are more for occasional than everyday use. Watch this space.

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