Saucy Celica

Lighter, more compact, faster - Alastair Sloane reveals some of the secrets of the upcoming Toyota Celica.

The new Toyota Celica has, of course, more to it than our picture shows but Toyota New Zealand doesn't want to give too much away.

Keeping mum is part of its "I've got a secret" corporate culture. But at least the company is acknowledging that the new model is on its way, even if it won't reveal what the car looks like exactly.

Not yet anyway. Not until Toyota trots out the Celica sometime over the next two months.

But what the carmaker will confirm is that the Celica will be lighter, more compact and more powerful than the outgoing model. It will also have more interior room.

A high-tech four-cylinder 1.8-litre engine, developed jointly with motorcycle specialist Yamaha, will replace the old model's 2.2-litre powerplant.

The engine uses Toyota's new variable valve timing system called VVTL-i, which works like Honda's acclaimed VTEC technology.

The design will enable the 1.8-litre engine to produce 130kW at a high-revving 7600 rpm and push the car from zero to 100 km/h in about eight seconds.

Toyota has confirmed that the Celica's power-to-weight ratio has sharpened acceleration times considerably.

And it believes that putting the wheels and front and rear MacPherson strut suspension assembly closer to the four corners of the car will give it better straight-line and cornering stability.

The Celica will come with either a six-speed manual gearbox or four-speed sequential automatic. The automatic will also have electronic Formula One-style switches on the steering wheel, which the driver can use to change gears.

A computer takes the place of the clutch pedal, by engaging and disengaging the clutch and shifting gears. This is becoming a widely accepted method of changing up and down the rev range. Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Porsche, Audi, BMW, Subaru all use the optional switches.

The Celica is expected to use a hybrid electric-hydraulic power steering system which, Toyota claims, relieves the engine of the burden of spinning a conventional power steering pump.

Toyota says it has not yet decided on the price, although it believes it will be in line with that of the outgoing model.

There is also talk overseas of a four-wheel-drive variant using technology from the World Rally Championship Corolla.

The new model is the seventh-generation Celica. The first appeared in 1971.