Toyota has confirmed the GR Celica Rally1 will compete in the 2027 World Rally Championship, joining a new GR Yaris Rally1 in an expanded two-team programme. The Celica name is returning to the stages, although this announcement does not confirm a road-car launch.
The plans announced on 3 November put the Celica with Toyota Racing and the Yaris with Gazoo Racing Toyota. Both teams will operate from the same headquarters in Jyväskylä, Finland, with Toyota preparing to enter up to six factory cars per rally.
Reigning champion Elfyn Evans will drive the Celica, alongside Oliver Solberg and Sami Pajari. The Yaris line-up includes Ott Tänak, Takamoto Katsuta and Kalle Rovanperä, whose return will cover selected events rather than a full season.
The different badges and body shapes do not mean Toyota is promising a performance advantage for either car. It says both will compete under the same new regulations with equal power and performance.
Those 2027 FIA rules allow much greater freedom over bodywork, including bespoke rally designs fitted around a common safety-cell design. A familiar name on a rally car therefore does not, by itself, establish what a future showroom model will look like or use underneath.
The regulations also target a reduction of more than 50 per cent in car costs compared with the outgoing formula. That is a reduction in the cost of the machinery, rather than a promise to halve an entire team’s budget.
Toyota plans to complete homologation, the approval needed for competition, before the end of 2026. Further details of both cars and their liveries are due before the 2027 season.
