While rumours of a new low-cost sportscar from Toyota are old news, fresh information from the pages of Best Car magazine have got internet forums abuzz with speculation about the return of the Celica - in AWD form.

Early reports put the Toyota sportscar project as being the spiritual descendant of the AE86 Sprinter: a lightweight, rear-wheel-drive “sporty” car. However, after news that Subaru would be collaborating with Toyota was followed by rumours that Toyota of Europe were looking to revive the Celica nameplate, it seems that Best Car simply put two and two together and concluded that the sports car project is not intended for a Sprinter revival, but a Celica comeback instead.

Best Car say that the new Celica will be available in two trim levels, with the base GT version supposedly being cheaper than $20,000 USD. The GT will bring the Celica back to its RWD roots, and will most likely be powered by a naturally-aspirated EJ20 flat-four, which will drive the rear wheels through a manual transmission. The Celica hasn’t been rear-wheel-drive since 1985, with the move to FWD seen by many as a serious blow to the Celica’s sporting cred.

The big-daddy GT-Four will feature AWD, around 300hp and will most likely borrow heavily from the GH WRX’s parts bin. BC also speculate that a hybrid version will be available, with in-wheel electric motors driving the front wheels.

Happily, Best Car say that in order to keep manufacturing costs low the new Celica would have to be built in high volumes, meaning that such a car, if it eventuates, would most definitely be a global release, with deliveries starting before the end of 2011.

Lets hope the rumours are true.

[Source: Best Car, via Motor Trend]
[Images courtesy of Best Car]