86 Toyota FT-86: First Official Photos of Near-Production RWD Sports Coupe

[NarutoRamen]

Soup...I meant current design-wise. These old cars, like the 2000GT and the FairladyZ knocked the european designs. I'm speaking strictly what's on the market now.

 

[Soup]

 

[hoffmeister_fan]

Drive of the decade? Props to the engineers at Subaru.

 

[Levi68]

Because yesterday I went to Honda and asked them the S2000. They said they hadn't got it. They proposed me the CRZ Hybride with 143 PS. I thinked them and went. What else can I then buy? A Z4 E89? 1M Coupé? To heavy. Cayman? To expensive for me.

 

[Levi68]

Easy to get 240 hp NA from a 2.0 4 cylinder? Surely not..

Easy yes: ITB,.....
Cheaply no. And price it the point of the car.

Also, that side vent looks non-functional, thus making the cheesy vent even cheesier.

That is what the 1 Series M Coupé has, cheesy non-existing side vents.

 

[hoffmeister_fan]

"a sports car worth waiting for"

http://www.insideline.com/scion/fr-s/2013/2013-scion-fr-s-first-drive.html

First Drive: Scion FR-S
Like an impatient child told in February what he's getting for Christmas, our wait for the 2013 Scion FR-S Coupe has seemed an interminable one. First there were clues, then a Toyota concept, then a Scion concept. Then...nothing.

This time, however, we've finally driven it, or at least a prototype of the Scion FR-S. And we're glad to announce that it's very much the car we've been waiting for — figuratively, not just literally.

Clearly, this is a sports car that had its development driven by feel and intuition, not lap times and lateral grip levels. "Sports cars have gotten boring," Toyota officials told us. "They're only interested in going fast." So the FR-S aims to bring speeds down but push enjoyment up. Is that really possible?

Yeah, There's Plenty of Subaru in This Scion
By now you've heard that the 2013 Scion FR-S is built on a rear-wheel-drive platform co-developed with Subaru. It'll be called the Subaru BRZ, and the production version will debut at the Tokyo auto show in just two weeks. We still don't have all the technical details, but we can tell you that it's about as small as a sports car can get while still offering four seats.

For reference, the FT-86 II concept shown at the Geneva auto show earlier this year measured 166.7 inches long, 50 inches high and 70.7 inches wide. It also had a short wheelbase that measured a mere 101.2 inches, or 5 inches shorter than the wheelbase of the Scion tC coupe. The dimensions of this prototype are at least that tight, if not tighter.

Keeping the size down helped control the weight, too. At just 2,822 pounds, the FR-S undercuts the tC by around 300 pounds. Couple that with the 2.0-liter flat-4 engine that produces roughly 197 horsepower and the FR-S looks pretty good on paper. Figure in the six-speed manual transmission and limited-slip differential and the FR-S starts to really look good.

Feels Good, Too
First impressions are that it feels light and compact, not unlike a Mazda MX-5 or the last Toyota MR2. The driving position is low, straight and snug. The front seats are grippy, the rear seats tiny. Think of it as a poor man's Porsche 911 and it feels just fine.

You'll have a harder time channeling those thoughts when it comes to the car's powertrain. The 2013 Scion FR-S is no stoplight hero. It's not slow either, though, so ripping through the precise six-speed shifter feels satisfying. There's a broad power curve and the engine revs clear up to 7,500 rpm, but like a typical Subaru boxer engine, there's no desperate need to wind it that far.

You'll be glad to know that the stability control system can be switched completely off.

You'll be glad to know that the stability control system can be switched completely off. That means the FR-S has burnout potential even if it's a little low on displacement. We were glad to get some seat time, so we didn't bother roasting the rubber this time out.

A Scion That Slides
It's hard to accurately gauge the ride on the concrete airfield where we drove the prototype, but the FR-S feels quite deftly set up and light on its feet. It steers easily, too. At 2.5 turns lock to lock, it has a quick but not hyperactive rack, and is light to average in terms of its assist. It all adds to the impression of a car that's easy to get along with right from the start.

Hit a corner and you'll find some roll, but the rate is well contained. The 2013 Scion FR-S's weight distribution is 53/47 percent front/rear, so it'll nudge into steady-state understeer if you're on a constant throttle, where it grips moderately well and is poised.

Push any harder and the FR-S starts to get really fun. Add any amount of power and it'll turn at least neutral. Trail the brakes into a bend, lift midcorner and it'll give you armfuls of oversteer. For that alone, the FR-S is better than any Scion coupe before it.

There's still a bit of tweaking to do on the damping, but it's 90 percent of the way there, at least according to our limited time behind the wheel. The gearing isn't always perfect either, at least if you want to pitch it into a long turn and hold a slide. Third gear just doesn't have the guts, so serious momentum is the only way to keep playing games with the chassis.

More Power?
Of course more power would be nice. But more power means a turbo, stronger brakes and maybe even bigger wheels and tires to go with them. All that adds weight, and that's where the downward spiral starts, right?

That's Toyota's thinking, at least for now. We can't argue with that reasoning either. More stuff equals more cost, too, and the 2013 Scion FR-S is supposed to be an affordable rear-drive sports car for the masses.

As it is now, that's exactly what it is, and a good one at that. There's no doubt a hotter, 200-plus-horse FR-S will arrive eventually, but until then this first attempt feels as it should. The handling is well sorted, the engine has usable power and you can even turn off the nannies to have some real fun. This might have been worth waiting for after all.

 

[hoffmeister_fan]

It seems, I can't do a proper copy and paste of the Insideline article. Shame, really.
EDIT: re-did it.


Levi:
True, the 1M has non-functioning, non-existing "gills" on the side, but it kind of serves a purpose in that M-sport widened the front track. They styling folks probably figure that would make it look less bulbous when they added the fake, non-existing gills

 

[Levi68]

True. I personally don't like the fake side vents. Would love them flat as in the FR-S Concept.

 

[NarutoRamen]

Eh, I'm indifferent to the vents. It's only a low-to-mid 20K car, what do you expect. And honestly, I'd rather have "fake" vents from the start rather than what all the ricers are going to do with it...fake Z3 vents on ricemobiles anyone?

 

[Human]

One just cant't deny the winning recipe that this car will bring with the simple basics that is pure in what we enthusiast and petrol heads seek in a car. RWD, front engine and (dare I say, in the new Turbo charged era) free-revving N/A engine.

For the first time in my life (that includes the LF-A) the 'want' factor involving a Japanese car has struck me like the flu!

 

[hoffmeister_fan]

One just cant't deny the winning recipe that this car will bring with the simple basics that is pure in what we enthusiast and petrol heads seek in a car. RWD, front engine and (dare I say, in the new Turbo charged era) free-revving N/A engine.

For the first time in my life (that includes the LF-A) the 'want' factor involving a Japanese car has struck me like the flu!

Ok, what I'm about to say may get my membership to this forum revoked.....here' goes.

I used to love cars as a kid, especially Bimmers, Lambos, Ferraris, Porsches, and all the other usual suspects. But what made me stuck around with this fascination with the automobile were alot of the Japanese cars. As a kid in the early and mid-90's, you had your Supra Turbos, 300ZXs, NSX and Mitsubishi 3000GT. All these cars would go and handle like stink and be pretty reliable versus their Euro counterparts. And the other key thing that appealed to me was that it was attainable. It was nice to dream of the expensive makes but they become pretty moot when you look at the price on the window.

Then the Japanese sports car scene kind of died, replaced by SUVs. Except for the 4Runner and the Landcruiser, I was pretty sad that sports cars from the Land of the Rising Sun were on the wayside.

Looks like we are now back in the thick of things, spear-headed by the Z, GTR, LFA, and now the Toyobaru twins. Barring the LFA, they are relatively attainable and goes like stink. And it will take something significantly negative to make me cover up the heart I have on my sleeve when it comes to the LFA....that car is everything that's right with motoring, IMO.

I cannot wait till the Scion (natch) FR-S and the Subes BRZ comes out. I really hope the BRZ comes State-side...the rear looks so much better. I really cannot wait.

Eh, I'm indifferent to the vents. It's only a low-to-mid 20K car, what do you expect. And honestly, I'd rather have "fake" vents from the start rather than what all the ricers are going to do with it...fake Z3 vents on ricemobiles anyone?

Exactly, that stuff just bothers me. It just gets annoying when you have an otherwise nice design that gets marred by superfluous stupid sh**. What can I say....I have OCD-like tendencies when it comes to details, i.e. reverse lights on bumpers, fake vents. The LFA does get a pass regarding the reverse lights. I can't stay mad at a car that drives and sounds like that.