#fr-s

We’ve been thoroughly excited about the upcoming release of the Scion FR-S – read our review here – but with any other sports car we hope that it’ll get a version with more power. A turbocharged Scion FR-S was recently spied testing out at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, but we shouldn’t get too excited yet.

We have reason to believe that the turbocharged Scion FR-S seen drifting is actually the drift car being built by GReddy for Scion drifter Ken Gushi. Gushi has been campaigning a rear-wheel-drive converted tC for the past few years in Formula Drift and it’s publicly known that he’ll be climbing into the cockpit of an FR-S for the upcoming season.

Previously, Gushi had teamed up with RS*R for the development of his race cars, but with RS*R taking a back seat this year, GReddy was called upon to execute a custom turbocharged powerplant and to get Scion’s new sports car ready to roll sideways.

We still have no doubts that Toyota will come out with a more powerful version of their new sports coupe, but we still believe it’ll come in the ways of a supercharger from TRD, rather than a turbocharged setup. For now, we can enjoy the sound of a turbocharged FR-S going sideways.

Check out the video after the break.

[Source: Motor Trend]

The hype surrounding Scion‘s new FR-S may very well be deserved, but it looks like it’s just the beginning for the sports coupe. Project manager Yoshinori Sasaki expressed his hopes for a new variant of the FR-S per year, possibly similar to the existing Release Series that Scion has in place for their other models.

When Scion‘s FR-S debuted out in Los Angeles, a modified black variant by GReddy was also present but wasn’t exactly center stage. This isn’t a huge surprise as GReddy has been a long time partner with Scion, but this might also be revealing a few more projects that are underway through the collaboration.

Scion decided to bring the modified version out to a Cars and Coffee event in Irvine, California, where visitors were treated to hearing the FR-S’s new exhaust note courtesy of GReddy. Given GReddy’s track record with other vehicles and products, a turbo kit is definitely in development right now along with a bolt-on intake and exhaust.

But what’s even more interesting is the possibility that GReddy will be building a drifter for Ken Gushi for the 2012 Formula DRIFT season since RS*R has decided to take a backseat to everything going on. Clearly the FR-S will be a popular tuning platform, let’s see if GReddy can put itself back on the map with it.

Check out the video after the break.

This year has been a  tough one for Toyota thanks to Mother Nature and her natural disasters. As if the tragic earthquake and tsunami in Japan wasn’t bad enough, Thailand experienced its worst floods in almost 70 years, disrupting Toyota’s production of their popular Camry and Prius models.

It’s been two years since Toyota first revealed the FT-86 concept, and after numerous leaks, and even more concept teasers, the production version of the most highly anticipated car in years has been revealed. The very first photos of the production model also come with an announcement of the car’s name: the GT 86. Revealed in Euro-spec, the GT 86 will come with a dual exhaust, a rear spoiler, 17-inch wheels and an ’86 piston’ logo on the fenders.

Promoting a new product through a Facebook app is nothing new, but Toyota added an extra spin to their virtual racing game by building the track’s signage based on your personal Facebook content. Called Social Network Racer, the purpose of the Facebook racing game is to help promote the FR-S Concept, even though the game has no real presence of the vehicle other than some images and text at the starting line.

Subaru’s version of the Toyota FT-86 front-engine, rear-wheel drive sports coupe will finally debut at this December’s Tokyo Auto Show. Toyota will sell its version as a Scion in the U.S. As for the Subaru model, well, according to the latest reports, there won’t be a powerful, turbocharged STI version.