Originally posted by MrFatBooty
This sounds less than likely. The current Celica was a move by Toyota away from big heavy things and towards light weight and high efficiency. Curb weights listed for it range from 2425 to 2580 lbs. Aside from the fact that the GT-S 6-speed is made in such miniscule quantities and almost never on hand at dealers, they sell pretty well.
The main complaints about it from owners are that it is somewhat lacking in the traditional Toyota quality and that it rattles too much. Toyota also had a problem with a high number of warranty claims on the GT-S because of a bunch of retards missing the 3-4 shift and grabbing 2nd gear instead. Originally the redline was at 8100 RPM and the limiter was 8400 RPM. So on the '02 model, they lowered the rev limiter to 7600 RPM (which is right where the power peaks, very annoying) and widened the gates on the shifter. The same motor in the Matrix XRS though, has an 8100 RPM limiter. Someone at Toyota figured out that a rev limiter isn't going to save the car from a missed shift so the '03 GT-S has its redline at 7800 and its limiter at 8100.
Toyota will probably move to something less peaky for the next GT-S, perhaps with 2.0 liters of displacement to chase after the RSX. I'd be pretty surprised though if it's not still a lightweight FF 2-door hatch.
You're completely correct. The celica has always been about light weight FF. If I have to guess, I would say the next would have a bored out version of the current engine to maybe 2.0L and pushing about low 200s. Which should be plenty for a 2500lb car.