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Scion Launches Enthusiast Coupe

  Scion FR-S Launch
  Scion unveils its 2013 FR-S compact, which is expected to be of high interest to enthusiasts in the youth segment.

Scion has unveiled the 2013 FR-S compact rear-wheel-drive sports car, a high-performance coupe that will go on sale in the spring of 2012.

The FR-S, which stands for Front-engine, Rear-wheel drive, Sport; is Scion’s version of the car jointly developed in a partnership with Subaru. Subaru’s version is called the BRZ. Both cars are expected to be of high interest to enthusiasts in the youth segment.

Pictured below is an FR-S with modifications by GReddy. (Word is that GReddy may be working on a race version of the FR-S, which is expected to make ideal raw material for drifting and handling events.)

The cars offer the world’s only flat boxer engine in a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive configuration. The engine’s compact size and flat shape allow it to be mounted mid-ship and extremely low, giving the car a dynamically favorable front-to-rear weight ratio of 53:47 and a low center of gravity comparable to some exotic supercars.

The FR-S’s 2.0L, naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine is the product of the joint development between Toyota and Subaru.

  Scion FR-S
  Here we see a customized version of the FR-S, showing how enthusiasts would be likely to adapt to the car. This car has aftermarket wheels, brakes, tires and a custom interior. It’s expected that between Subaru and Scion, plus a European version marketed under the Toyota brand, there will be sufficient volume to make parts development an attractive investment.

The partnership begins by combining Subaru’s newly developed horizontally opposed engine and Toyota’s cutting edge D-4S injection system that incorporates both direct and port injection.

The D-4S system, partnered with a high 12.5:1 compression ratio, results in 200 hp and 151 lb.-ft. of torque.  

Scion plans to hold a measuring session some time in the early spring, which would allow interested SEMA manufacturing members to get an early look at the car.

Pricing has not been announced, but expectations are that the car will launch at a price somewhere under $30,000.