2013 Scion FR-S - A New Breed of Sports Car

Having just gotten off a plane that has taken me to Tokyo, Japan, and back in less than 48 hours, I can say with great excitement that the prototype version (basically production ready) of the ’13 Scion FR-S is the car that we have all been waiting for.

Why am I so happy about this car? I’m not sure if you’ve looked around a car dealership lately, but last time I checked there aren’t many affordable, lightweight, RWD sports car on the market; even looking past that, there’s nothing on the market that’s been built with the enthusiast in mind. You know, guys like me and you who want to be able to tinker and modify cars, take them to the track and beat on them.

That’s what the Scion FR-S promises to be, and for the most part, is. Chief engineer Tetsuya Tada, who’s responsible for this creation, said that from the start this car was to be built on passion, not for the bean counters. His goal was to develop a car that enthusiasts will want to drive and that will be raw and pure, bringing back the essence of what a true sports car is.

Just look at all the great automotive machinery on the road today. With complex AWD systems and high-horsepower, turbocharged engines, these cars deliver mind-blowing performance, but they do so more with electronics rather than the person behind the wheel. And let’s face it, they aren’t cheap.

The Scion FR-S begs to be different. Built with this slogan in mind, “A fun car is a car that you control,” it doesn’t bring 300 hp to the table, nor does it have a turbo. What about big wide tires? Nope, none of that either. Instead, its characteristics are based on a lightweight platform that’s compact in size and focuses on driving experience above all.

Utilizing an extremely low center of gravity in a front, mid-engine, RWD setup that rivals the center-of-gravity height of such super cars as the Ferrari F360, Porsche Cayman and 911 GT3, you quickly realize that the FR-S is for real. You’ll probably also understand why Toyota chose a 4-cylinder horizontally opposed boxer engine for the FR-S instead of a much taller conventional piston engine. Using the boxer engine also allows it and other major components to be moved farther back toward the vehicle’s center point, resulting in an extremely neutral-handling chassis that laughs at the thought of understeer.

You’re still a bit unsure of a boxer engine in a Toyota, because doesn’t Subaru only produce those engines? Well, it just so happens that Toyota and Subaru are in cahoots on this project, and you’ll see a very similar version of the FR-S badged as a BRZ from Subaru. It’s hard to get definite answers as to what manufacturer built exactly what on this platform, but I say, “who cares?” It all works so well together that there’s no need to bicker about how much Subaru or Toyota this car really is.

Getting back to the subject at hand, the direct injection 2.0-liter 4U-GSE, flat-4 delivers 200 hp and 150 ft-lbs of torque with a healthy redline of 7450 rpm. Again, I bet I know what you’re thinking — “just 200 hp?” Trust me, for stock configuration the FR-S doesn’t need more. If you consider it weighs in roughly around 2,700 lbs, then 200 hp is plenty good. Surprisingly enough, with 150 ft-lbs or torque, you’d also think there’s little midrange available, but the 2.0-liter 4-cylinder provided plenty of grunt and never felt lacking, no matter what the rpm were at.

I also want to point out that the FR-S is targeted at a young demographic, and even though every young buck may think he’s a Michael Schumacher on the street, statistics prove otherwise. You kids will have your hands full with 200 prancing ponies. Seeing as you’re also a wonder at driving manual, you’ll have no problems with the smooth, precise, 6-speed manual gearbox. However, maybe that whole third pedal thing isn’t your cup of tea. No problem, there’s an optional 6-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters available.