The Toyota coupe whose name comes from Latin for “heavenly” or “celestial” is the Celica.
Toyota derived Celica from the Latin word coelica, meaning heavenly or celestial. The name suited a sporty coupe introduced in 1970, when Toyota was expanding beyond practical family cars and developing a more youthful performance image.
The Celica was produced across seven generations from December 1970 to April 2006. It began as a rear-wheel-drive, two-door coupe, later gaining liftback and convertible forms. From the fourth generation onward, most Celicas used front-wheel drive, while the GT-Four became a famous all-wheel-drive performance variant.
The Celica also has a useful dealer-network detail: in Japan, it was sold through Toyota Corolla Store outlets. The names Supra, Soarer, Sera, and Celica can all evoke Toyota’s sporty history, but only Celica carries this Latin-derived celestial meaning.