NYIAS 2011: Scion FR-S Concept

Yesterday, we showed you the first leaked images of the new Scion FR-S concept and now we can finally give you what the design study looks in the flesh. All in all, it's a very stylish looking brute of a car, but we still wish that Toyota would hurry up and put the thing into production, instead of making so many concepts.

Sales of sportscars are usually dictated by how well they respect a simple formula or performance and looks, so no amount of concept vehicles and new designs is going to translate to the company’s bottom line.

Despite the fact that the Toyota FT-86 was first revealed almost two years ago, we aren’t that mad at the guys at Scion, as this is the best concept at the New York Auto Show.

“FR-S stands for Front-engine… Rear-wheel drive… Sport. Pretty simple. I personally believe it should stand for Friggin’ Really Sweet… but the legal department at Toyota was NOT feeling the same way,” says Jack Hollis, Scion vice president, during the New York Show presentation.

In our opinion, this is a much better looking machine than the second version of the Toyota FT-86, shown in Geneva this past March. Though the pair look similar, the front end flows bette with the headlamps and grill shapes much more pleasant for the eye. What we think happened is that Toyota designers were much more constricted to stick to the brand identity with the FT-86.

Thankfully, the production version is indeed coming, probably sometime next year, and it will be fitted with the same 2.0-liter boxer engine sourced from Subaru as the Toyota model. The big change is that the company revealed that the flat four engine will incorporate Toyota’s D4-S injection system, which uses both direct and port injection, resulting in increased horsepower and torque throughout the powerband.