The Scion FR-S is hotly anticipated to say the least. When we test drove one,  it certainly did not dissapoint.

Scion’s Canadian FR-S website went live today and brought with it the release of some new video’s which add to the excitment surrounding the coupe. The videos showcase Ken Gushi drifting the FR-S, how the painting process works, lots of driving footage, an FR-S being assembled and even footage from the video game Gran Turismo. The clips aren’t all new, but they’re still fun to watch.

Scion even borrowed some AutoGuide footage of the FR-S reveal, yeah we’re that good.

If you’re a die-hard FR-S fan, these videos will get your heart beating a little quicker. We included the best ones after the jump.

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When Toyota announced that the GT 86 would be available as a bare bones model ready for customization, tuners everywhere rejoiced. Unfortunately for Americans, we won’t be getting the option to buy a stripped down Scion FR-S.

The Toyota GT 86 RC will be sold without painted bumpers, air conditioning, or even an audio system, which is great for those who love customizing their cars, or even someone on a tight budget. When first announced, Toyota didn’t specify about the FR-S getting the same treatment. We know now that it will not.  Thanks to the strong Yen and weak American dollar Toyota says that it will likely lose money on a stripped down version of the FR-S in America, so it will not be produced.

We’re groaning a little too, but then again Toyota confirmed that the FR-S will start under $30,000, which is a small price to pay for a new performance car, especially one that we were so enthused by during our review and first drive.

[Source: Automotive News]

What could be cooler than a Toyota GT 86? How about a lighter and less-expensive version, stripped down of all the unwanted frills straight from the factory and ready to be your blank-canvas of customization?

That is exactly what Toyota has done, offering the GT 86 RC model, the perfect package for anyone who wants to convert it into a track car, or modify the hell out of it.

Included in the package are 16-inch steelie wheels that we haven’t seen since the days of a 1993 Honda Civic VX hatchback. The front and rear bumpers, side mirrors, and door handles all come unpainted and of course the fog lights are gone. Even better, the interior comes without air conditioning, all the trim around the steering wheel and shifter and even tosses out the plastic intake cover under the hood – all parts that most car enthusiasts probably would never care for to begin with.

To top it off, Toyota of Japan is pricing this RC model at 1.9-million Yen, which is about $24,600 based on today’s conversion rates. While that’s nothing to really go off of to determine the pricing of the Scion FR-S in America, the point is that it is significantly cheaper than your standard base model GT 86 in Japan. To top it off, it weighs 100-lb less than the base GT 86.

Sadly, the RC trim is currently only available in Japan and Toyota has made no hint that it will offer the RC trim in America.

Check it out below, as well as several other trim models available for the GT 86 overseas, which includes a top-of-the-line GT Limited.

GALLERY: Toyota GT 86 Model Variants

Click here to read AutoGuide’s First Drive of the Scion FR-S

We recently reported that Scion shot a new commercial for their upcoming FR-S sports car with Ken Gushi behind the wheel. What we didn’t know at the time was that Gushi had a hair raising experience with a deer while on the shoot.

And of course the cameras were rolling as he drove through some winding mountain roads in Northern California, and Scion has decided to share the video with the rest of the world. It’s crazy just how close of a call Gushi had with the deer while filming. Luckily Gushi, the deer and the FR-S were unharmed while making the commercial…at least as far as we know!

Watch the video clip after the break and try your best not to gasp.

Read AutoGuide.com’s review of the Scion FR-S here.

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When you’re the CEO of a company, it must bring a sense of pride when a successful product is finally completed after years of hard work.

Steve Jobs over at Apple had great pride in every iPhone that was released, and probably had a huge sense of satisfaction not only using the product he helped develop, but seeing the benefits it has on all the people around him. Akio Toyoda, CEO and President of Toyota, must be extremely proud with their new GT 86 sports car, but boy does he reap all the benefits of being the head of one of the largest automakers in the world.

Toyoda got behind the wheel of their newest creation, but being the CEO means you get to do anything you want without having to answer to anybody. So what better way to really enjoy the newest toy your company has to offer than to take it out onto a dirt track and going sideways in it? Easy, take it out on a giant snow field and go drifting in it.

And judging by the huge smiles on Toyoda’s face in the video, he loves the new GT 86 as much as we did. Autoguide had the opportunity to put the Scion FR-S to the test – you can read our review here – and we would certainly be proud of it if we were in charge of running the famous Japanese automaker. Too bad we didn’t get the chance to take it sideways in the dirt and snow though.

Get more info and news on the GT 86/FR-S forum.

Watch the video after the break, that truly reminds us that the Toyota GT 86 / Scion FR-S will make it “Fun to drive: again.”

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The Toyota GT 86 is being hyped as a drift car extraordinaire, which seems to be a fitting title after watching the video below.

This video comes out of Japan, and shows off two GT 86s, (which will be badged as Scion FR-Ss in North America), drifting around an impromptu pylon marked track. Both the drivers are out having some fun, and showing off their skills for the crowd.

Check out the video abelow, and let us know what you think of the Toyota GT 86 in the comments section below.

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There was absolutely no surprised looks around here when we heard that TRD was hard at work on tuning the all-new Toyota GT 86. It’s been a while since Toyota had such a formidable sports car platform, but we have to admit we’re a little disappointed that a method of forced induction – like a supercharger kit – still hasn’t been announced.

But we’ll give TRD the benefit of the doubt since they’ve already developed such a nice collection of modifications for the new sports car before it has even hit American soil. Our guess is that the majority of these will find their way to America’s Scion FR-S assuming that there’s little to no fitment differences on the products. We can hardly imagine what improvements TRD has made to the sports car, considering that it’s a fantastic machine to drive straight from the factory – read our review here.

Nonetheless, TRD’s full line of products for the GT 86 includes a full styling package with a new front spoiler, side skirts, rear diffuser and rear duck tail wing. For an exhaust upgrade, TRD offers a High Response Muffler Ver.R for the GT 86, sporting a quad-tipped design. For suspension and chassis upgrades, TRD has a front strut tower bar and 40-way damping adjustable suspension kit. Accessories include a radiator and oil cap, HID bulb upgrade, and Door Stabilizer Set.

For wheels and brakes, TRD offers a nicely designed 18-inch SF2 wheel, which is a one-piece forged aluminum wheel. The Big Brake Kit comes with 6-piston front calipers and 4-piston rear calipers with massive 14-inch rotors in the front and the rears are just slightly smaller at 13.6-inch. The BBK comes with new brake pads and stainless steel braided lines of course.

Lastly, the interior also has plenty of TRD goods available including a set of new seats in a black and red theme, TRD shift knob and push start button, and a series of gauges.

For now it’ll calm us down a bit, but seriously TRD… where’s our supercharger at?

GALLERY: TRD Toyota GT 86

[Source: Jon Sibal]

The Toyota GT 86, or Scion FR-S as it will be called in North America, isn’t available yet, but it’s already generating tuner buzz.

We were satisfied with the stock 200-horsepower boxer engine during our review in December, but that’s not quite enough power for some of the folks in the hachi-roku forums. Tetsuya Tada, the car’s chief engineer is encouraging the conversation.

“Some Americans already put a 5.0-liter engine in a Mazda roadster. There are fanclubs who want to do the same with our car. There is no rule to limit that. As manufacturers, we can’t do that. We have to give guarantees. We need to build cars that last. Tuners can try. We welcome that,” Tada said.

The 5.0-liter Mazda mod he’s talking about is, of course, the Monster Miata which gets a Mustang V8 shoehorned surprisingly well in place of it’s stock four banger.

While we don’t see the need to tinker with Toyota’s formula, it’s easy to understand the urge.

“As it is, only highly skilled drivers can make full use of the stock engine. Some people may like to have a higher speed in the straightaway, but there are lots of other cars they can choose,” Tada said,

He even teased the idea of putting a more potent engine into future models, though we aren’t holding our breath.

“For our current engine, we cooperated with Subaru. Maybe we [will] cooperate with Porsche or someone else next time. You can partner with anybody in the world these days.”

GALLERY: 2013 Scion FR-S

[Source: The Truth About Cars]

With the Scion FR-S destined to arrive on North American soil rather soon, it’ no surprise that the sub-brand for Japanese automaker, Toyota, decided to give its website a new identity. It appears that Scion hopes to give itself a more of a “grown up” image too with the FR-S’s arrival, which will undoubtedly be the first real sports car for the young brand.

Up until now, Scion is most well-known for its quirky models that appeal to the young automotive enthusiast interesting in customizing their vehicle to match their personality. And while the tC was an attempt at making a sporty coupe, most would agree that it doesn’t have – or even come close to – the appeal that the FR-S brings. We already have no doubts that the FR-S as a car is a hit (read our review here), but it’ll be interesting to see if buyers can get over the “Scion hump” of knowing that it doesn’t boast a Toyota badge, but rather a badge that’s been heavily associated to a younger generation of car enthusiasts.

Either way, the new website is clearly an indication that Scion wants to trend away slowly from the reputation it has established over the years. Rather than a dark-themed and Flashy website, it now incorporates a friendly-on-the-eyes design with everything just a couple of clicks away. In other words, it’s function over form, much like the FR-S. It looks great, and it performs great.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock that’s inside a cave the last couple of months, you might have heard of the Toyota GT 86 which will be coming to America as the Scion FR-S. But in case you haven’t heard of the FR-S (you can read our review here), Scion went out and shot a commercial recently with drifter Ken Gushi behind the wheel.

ATTIK creative agency was called upon to direct the ad, with Simon Needham at the helm. ATTIK is also known for Scion’s wacky Zeus Release Series campaign that was well, wacky. Scion Vice President Jack Hollis also spent the day at the commercial shoot and even had time to speak to Ken Gushi to get his feedback on the new sports car.

The behind-the-scenes look that Scion has shared with us is pretty neat, seeing all the cameras and contraptions utilized to film the commercials. Three unique commercials were shot that day and will air nationally this spring when the FR-S goes on sale. We’re definitely interested to see what the results were and expect nothing but excitement with Gushi behind the wheel in the ads.

GALLERY: Scion FR-S Behind the Scenes Commercial Shoot

[Source: Scion Blog]