Joining the GR Yaris Rally1 car is the GR Celica Rally1. Both cars will run in the same new WRC Car regulations—aimed at increasing competition by making the top Rally1 category more accessible with equal power and performance.

The combined Toyota Gazoo Racing – World Rally Team (TGR-WRT) will feature at least three world champions with the 2026 title winner Elfyn Evans joined by Ott Tänak and Kalle Rovanperä. Completing an impressive mix of rally-winning experience and proven potential are the WRC’s three newest rally winners: Oliver Solberg, Sami Pajari, and Takamoto Katsuta.

Entrusted with the new GR Celica Rally1 are defending WRC driver’s and co-driver’s champions Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin. Racing under Toyota Racing, they are entering their eighth successive full season with the team. The experienced and ever-consistent Welsh-English duo have started more rallies for Toyota than anyone else in the company’s long WRC history and secured their hard-earned first world titles this year having finished runners-up on five previous occasions.

Alongside them will be Oliver Solberg and Elliott Edmondson. The Swedish driver and his British navigator finished as runners-up in their first full season with TGR-WRT this year, scoring three victories and more stage wins than anyone else, after winning the WRC2 title with the GR Yaris Rally2 car in 2025.

Completing the Toyota Racing trio will be another up-and-coming pairing Sami Pajari and Marko Salminen. The Finns finished third in the standings and took three wins in what was their second full season competing at the highest level, demonstrating exceptional consistency with nine podiums from 13 events.

Gazoo Racing will take the wheel of the 2027 GR Yaris Rally1 with Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja, Takamoto Katsuta and Aaron Johnston, and Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen.

While Rally1 cars do not require a series-production road car homologation, it does fuel intense speculation for the Celica’s return, especially since Toyota is going out of its way to field a three-car team in the WRC.

Rumored specs for the GR Celica include an all-new turbocharged 2.0-liter 4-cylinder (codenamed G20E) which it’ll share with yet another iconic returning nameplate: the MR2. In the GR Celica, it’s reportedly pushing out anywhere between 300 to 450 horsepower and will offer an evolution of the GR-Four all-wheel drive system connected either to a 6-speed manual or 8-speed automatic.

The GR Celica will likely replace the GR Yaris/GR Corolla. Price-wise, it’s expected to slot above the GR 86, but below the GR Supra.