Scion FR-S

[Insomniator]

Originally Posted by Crono

Even with only 200 HP (though it isn't too bad for 2,600 lbs)

I'd love to try out a car with the kind of HP numbers people consider decent around here... my mini s with 175 hp @ 2600lbs seems plenty fast. But I guess I've never driven anything *actually* fast. 200 HP in a little roadster sounds pretty awesome to me.

[Crono]

Originally Posted by Insomniator

I'd love to try out a car with the kind of HP numbers people consider decent around here... my mini s with 175 hp @ 2600lbs seems plenty fast. But I guess I've never driven anything *actually* fast. 200 HP in a little roadster sounds pretty awesome to me.

It does to me, as well.

I'm not that complicated as far as cars. There are three modern cars I would really consider taking over my current Mustang: Lotus Exige (Scura, in a perfect world where I had the money), Mazda Miata (aka MX-5), and the Subaru BRZ/Toyota FR-S. Not a one over 300 HP. But they all handle well and are light.

Your car has some appeal, too, though I probably wouldn't take it over my current car. I like the older Minis, they have a lot of charm.

[Fritzo]

Lookie lookie



http://jalopnik.com/the-toyota-ft-86...mazd-450672953

The Mazda Miata has dominated the small, open top rear-drive market for nearly 25 years now. It's a personal favorite of mine as well as many on staff here. But the Toyobaru twins have been able to match it on the fun to drive scale. They just didn't have that open top flair.

Until now.

The Toyota FT-86 Open Concept is a barely disguised look at what a convertible Toyota GT86/Scion FR-S and possibly a Subaru BRZ roadster will look like.

This concept comes with an electrically folding soft top. It also has an iPhone holder in the interior in the shape of the 86.

Smart Toyota. Smart.

We imagine it has the same flat four under the hood with 200 horsies and has gained a little bit of heft from the needed added stiffening.

I think it looks pretty good. Not Miata good, but I'm very biased.

We'll see the real deal next week at the Geneva Motor Show.

[satyajitmenon]

That's a pretty good looking roadster...

It does look a bit rear-end heavy though. At least compared to a Miata.

[power_hour]

Originally Posted by satyajitmenon

That's a pretty good looking roadster...

It does look a bit rear-end heavy though. At least compared to a Miata.

Agreed. Good looking car. Not my style. But anyone shopping a Miata will have some nice choice soon.

[Throckmorton]

Originally Posted by Insomniator

I'd love to try out a car with the kind of HP numbers people consider decent around here... my mini s with 175 hp @ 2600lbs seems plenty fast. But I guess I've never driven anything *actually* fast. 200 HP in a little roadster sounds pretty awesome to me.

It's high RPM horsepower though. I'd rather have more low end torque especially since the selling point is low speed shenanigans.

Then again what I want is what I have already, an E36 328is.

[Throckmorton]

I looked up the Scion FR-S tires... Michelin Primacy HP. The treadwear on those is 240. My BFG g-Force Comp-2 tires are 340. How can those low rolling resistance tires have so much worse treadwear than my "ultra high performance" summer tires?

[Fritzo]

Originally Posted by Throckmorton

I looked up the Scion FR-S tires... Michelin Primacy HP. The treadwear on those is 240. My BFG g-Force Comp-2 tires are 340. How can those low rolling resistance tires have so much worse treadwear than my "ultra high performance" summer tires?

They're too thin for the car, so they spin a lot.

One of the first thing FR-S buyers are doing is replacing the tires with Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1's or something similar. It give an extra .5 second to your 0-60 time and makes it harder to spin the back end (which is actually why people are buying this car in the first place).

[Sulaco]

Originally Posted by satyajitmenon

That's a pretty good looking roadster...

It does look a bit rear-end heavy though. At least compared to a Miata.

Except...it's not a roadster.

A roadster, by definition, has 2 seats. It's also likely to gain weight, as is the drawback with making coupes that were never designed to be convertibles, convertibles.

[phucheneh]

Originally Posted by Fritzo

They're too thin for the car, so they spin a lot.

One of the first thing FR-S buyers are doing is replacing the tires with Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1's or something similar. It give an extra .5 second to your 0-60 time and makes it harder to spin the back end (which is actually why people are buying this car in the first place).

Wheelspin is not factored into treadwear rating...they're independent of the vehicle.

They're also independent of other tire companies.

...so, basically, they're meaningless. Just a very rough guide. One company's 540 might get treadlife similar to another company's 320.

[Fritzo]

New article on Road & Track has a video of the convert version in action (with soothing world music). "...looks like a shoo-in for production."

http://www.roadandtrack.com/future-c...-s-convertible

Ditch the Bayliner interior and the giant wheels sporting rubber-band-profile rubber, and the Toyota FT-86 Open "concept" you see here is your inevitable Scion FR-S convertible. It looks...great, actually.

Toyota says that "prototype engineering assessments are taking place." That's mumbo-jumbo for, "it's coming." Don't be surprised if Toyota announces a production timeline at the car's press conference in Geneva next week. The automaker even sneaks in a little top-drown drift sequence into the end of the clip, as if to drive home just how ready to go the show car is.

Tell your mom it's time to sell her Solara and get on the waiting list for one of these.

- See more at: http://www.roadandtrack.com/future-c....012bAiX8.dpuf