Well, this would certainly be a different direction for Scion.
The Toyota hipster brand has been entirely focused on smallish, low-power runabouts aimed at the youth market. Now it appears Toyota could be ready to introduce a Scion version of the hot rear-wheel-drive sports car it is co-developing with Subaru.
Scion debuted a dimly lit video showing the front of the car, but it’s so dark that about the only thing viewers can discern from it are that it is an impossibly low hood – made possible because the engine is a 2.0-liter Subaru flat-four – and aggressive front fenders. That the automaker is showing a Scion-badged version of the car certainly suggests that it will be sold stateside, something that was in doubt at one time.
Scion will debut the car at the New York Auto Show on April 20 with a video that can be seen at sciondimension.com. Sources have said that the Scion version may be called the FR-S.
Toyota has been showing its FT-86 concept for two years and many observers have suggested that there would be no Toyota version, leaving Scion to market it alone. At the Geneva Auto Show, Subaru surprised everyone with a transparent concept demonstrating the car’s technology, which it developed. Toyota has had responsibility for styling.
The concept was powered by a naturally aspirated direct-injection boxer engine. The Detroit Bureau reported earlier that the engine would likely produce about 200 horsepower, but a high-performance turbo version seems likely.
Click here to read the story about Subaru’s Boxer Sports Car concept from the Geneva auto show.
The link-up between Toyota and Subaru on this project is rather curious. As a rear-wheel-drive-only car, Subaru is breaking from its all-wheel-drive-only plan. At least it will be powered by its traditional boxer motor, rather than an inline V engine.