#ToyotaGt86

We were well aware that Gazoo Racing was working on a pair of Toyota GT 86 race cars and a Lexus LFA for the upcoming Nürburgring 24 Hours race, and now Toyota Swiss Racing Team will be joining it with another pair.

Ever since the Toyota GT 86 became official, sports car enthusiasts worldwide have been anxiously awaiting the announcement of either a turbocharged or supercharged variant.

Can’t get enough of the Toyota GT 86 / Scion FR-S? Neither can we. The all-new sports car from the Japanese automaker is starting to make its way to America and it couldn’t be soon enough.

The Toyota GT 86 generates enough buzz by itself, but it’s hard to resist looking at pictures of a race-modified version like the one in our gallery below.

If you’ve been holding your breath for a Scion FR-S turbo announcement, it’s best to exhale now. The Japanese automaker has confirmed that the FR-S won’t see a turbocharged variant from the factory, at least for the time being.

This really isn’t a huge surprise, but we all kept our fingers crossed hoping that Scion would eventually come out with a turbocharged model to pump even more performance into an already great sports car. Currently the FR-S is powered by a 2.0-liter with 200 hp and 151 lb-ft of torque, and with a price tag of $24,930 with a manual transmission, it’s a great bang for the buck.

Americans haven’t even seen the Scion FR-S in dealerships yet and Japanese tuners are out in Japan crashing the beloved Toyota GT 86 at drift events. 

When a rear-wheel drive car is going anywhere from 60-80 mph and flinging itself sideways, there’s a very good chance it’ll crash sooner or later. That’s part of the appeal of drifting: the inevitable, disastrous crash that is bound to come. Unfortunately this Up Garage Toyota GT 86 might be the first GT 86 to crash in a competition motorsports event piloted by Tetsuya Hibino.

It’s not an overly dramatic crash. In fact, it’s pretty run-of-the-mill when it comes to drifting accidents. But it’s still one of those sights we love to see on video. The cause of the crash is unknown, but given how relatively new the platform is, a suspension parts failure can’t be ruled out but chances are it’s was just overzealous piloting behind the wheel… or just the fact that it’s drifting and they get paid to create excitement.

The fully-decked out drift car shows the potential of what the FR-S / GT 86 can become behind the hands of the right tuners. FIVE:AD in America has already debuted its new  aero kit that looks great for the FR-S.

Watch the video of Toyota GT 86 crashing in D1 Grand Prix after the break.

It’s billed as an affordable sports car and at $24,200 it is. Unfortunately, if your bank account balance is more like $10 then the Toyota GT 86 ( Scion FR-S on our shores) is still out of reach.

Toyota is extremely proud of its new GT 86, and out in Japan, its motorsports partner Gazoo Racing has built a pair of GT 86s to compete in the famous Nürburgring 24 Hours race.

The race will take place from May 17th to the 20th and Gazoo Racing will also be fielding a Lexus LFA in the competition. Before one of the GT 86s compete in the Nürburgring race, however, it will make its way to the Japanese Rally Championship. Both custom Gazoo Racing Toyota GT 86s will be on display at the upcoming Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK from June 29th to July 1st.

It appears that the GT 86s will have around 200-hp and will be equipped with a six-speed manual for the race. We’re excited to see how well it does during the grueling endurance classic.

Watch a video of the Gazoo Racing Toyota GT 86 below

It’s not often that a game changing sports car comes out onto the market. The Toyota GT 86 / Scion FR-S is exactly that, and it’s clear that tuners and aftermarket product manufacturers are just as excited for the platform as automotive enthusiasts are.

There’s little to no doubt in our minds that the Scion FR-S will be a huge hit – you can read our review here – and the aftermarket will only make the vehicle better. Tuners in Japan have already been hard at work since they got their hands on the GT 86 earlier than America. But the Scion Racing / GReddy drift Scion FR-S driven by Ken Gushi (pictured above) looks ready to rock into action at the Long Beach season opener.

The Toyota GT 86 will be making its way to America soon as the Scion FR-S, and the Japanese automaker wanted to remind the general public that not only was the vehicle built with passion, but they would like us to drive with passion.

The clip is made to get our blood flowing in anticipation to the release of the FR-S, which will be one of the most affordable sports cars of this decade – you can read our review here. Out to prove that the GT 86 can do it all, on and off the track, Toyota has done an excellent job marketing its newest machine and we can’t wait until they’re on the street.

Watch Full Throttle – Drive with Passion below:

We fell in love with the Toyota GT 86 when we first drove it, so how could it get any better? Well, try more than doubling the car’s factory displacement by swapping out the Subaru-sourced 2.0-liter boxer 4-cylinder for a 5.0-liter V8.

Donated from a Lexus IS-F, this custom machine is the ride of choice for Japanese drift and road racer Max Orido, who will compete in the D1 drift series this year.

Watch the video below and we sure to check out our Scion FR-S First Drive here:

When it hits Scion dealers in June, the 2013 FR-S will be priced from $24,200 according to a leaked dealer document. That puts it just $50 under the 2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe.

Toyota may have a history in sports cars, but it’s not exactly the most impressive resume. So when the GT 86 (Scion FR-S) was announced and Toyota started explaining its heritage it was hard not to be a bit skeptical.

Last week Scion launched a new online campaign that showed off their darling sports car the FR-S. Visitors were given the opportunity to interact with the car in several ways, similar to any car’s configuration site.

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.