In the same week that the first prototype for Subaru’s highly-anticipated BRZ STI were spotted, Toyota’s in-house performance division TRD has revealed that it’s considering its own upgrades for the BRZ's twin, the Scion FR-S (GT 86 in other markets).

Headlining the range of upgrades under consideration at TRD is a new supercharger kit for the FR-S.

The information was first reported by Car and Driver, which managed to meet with TRD officials at the recent 2012 SEMA show. Scion presented a trio of hopped-up FR-S coupes at SEMA, some of which were supercharged.

TRD has a history of offering supercharger kits for Toyota vehicles, including both its car and truck models, so it wouldn’t be much of a stretch to see something offered for the Scion FR-S at some point. No power numbers have been talked about, though there should be a healthy jump over the standard model’s 200-horsepower rating.

The best part is that any supercharger offered by TRD will have a full factory warranty, something that can’t be said for any aftermarket kit. Another benefit is that any kit offered by TRD will likely be transferrable to the virtually identical Subaru BRZ.

Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) will display a production prototype of the "86" compact rear-wheel-drive sports car, scheduled for launch in the spring of 2012, at the 42nd Tokyo Motor Show 2011. The show, to be held at Tokyo Big Sight in Koto Ward, Tokyo, will be open to the public from November 30 through December 11.

With the shared desire to provide the dream and joy of cars, TMC and Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. (owners of the Subaru-brand) worked together to develop the 86 as a unique rear-wheel-drive vehicle, with intuitive handling, that embodies the essence of driving enjoyment.

The 86 features the world's first horizontally opposed D-4S engine, created by combining Subaru's engine technology with Toyota's cutting-edge D-4S direct injection technology. The engine is installed front mid-ship to establish the world's only horizontally opposed engine and rear-wheel-drive package. As a result, the 86 offers fun driving at a level unprecedented in earlier sports cars.

The 86, with numerous customizable parts and fresh, new potential of sports-car enjoyment suited to the times, carries on the spirit of the AE862 in it's aim to be a car that evolves with its owner.

A New Lightweight, Compact, Low-center-of-gravity, and Low-inertia Package Offers A New Dimension in Handling with an Exhilarating Shift Feel

The exclusive lightweight and compact rear-wheel-drive platform was designed to achieve superior handling and create the world's smallest3 mass-production four-passenger sports car.

The power unit is located front mid-ship to create an ultra-low center of gravity and low inertia that rivals that of supercars. The transmission is available as a six-speed manual transmission or a special sports-driving six-speed automatic transmission with the feel of a manual.

World's First Horizontally Opposed D-4S Engine Provides High Output and Excellent Environmental Performance

The vehicle's newly developed engine realizes higher output and better environmental performance, to create exceptional output and torque performance as well as superior response at low and medium speeds.

The D-4S, with separate twin injectors for both direct injection and port injection, boasts a high compression ratio of 12.5. This provides high output and high torque over a wide range of engine speeds and contributes to improved environmental performance.

The engine's maximum allowable speed exceeds 7000 RPM, with a maximum output of 200 horsepower (PS). The engine still realizes fuel efficiency and environmental performance that rivals that of a 2-liter-engine sedan.

The Ultimate in Sports Driving Enjoyment
By adopting an ultra-low center of gravity, the 86 has the lowest hip-point of any Toyota-brand production vehicle and creates a driving position suited for never-before-experienced driving enjoyment.

The rear seatbacks fold down to the front to create a luggage space that can accommodate four sports wheels or two golf bags.

Exterior
Starting with a low-center of gravity and excellent aerodynamic performance in pursuit of a low, fun, and attractive car, the 86 warmly embodies advanced performance that makes driving pleasurable and seeks an enduring and universal beauty of form.

The front features a unique, sharp design that gives the impression of a predator about to pounce. The sides effuse the heritage of Toyota sports cars and a modern design style is employed in the side window designs and rear fenders. The rear view expresses a wide and sturdy center of balance despite the condensed and compact cabin.

Interior
The interior design seeks the essence of sports cars by examining driving needs in detail and emphasizing functional components and operability to optimize the form, placement and materials of each element.

The seatbacks and cushion surfaces are designed to provide support during acceleration g-forces from the front, the back and to the sides. In addition, the shape of the front seats is designed to prevent elbows from interfering with gearshift operation.

The circular steering wheel has a diameter of 365 mm, the smallest in a Toyota-brand vehicle. The wheel's surface was optimized with exhaustive feedback from test drivers to enhance steering performance and grip.

A three-cluster meter built around the tachometer has been designed with particular attention paid to display placement, markings and typeface to enhance visibility and readability during sports driving.

TOYOTA AT THE 2013 GENEVA MOTOR SHOW

• World premiere of FT-86 Open concept
• World premiere of Toyota i-Road concept
• First appearance of production-ready Auris Touring Sports
• First European motor show appearance of the new RAV4

Toyota will take the wraps off two contrasting new concepts at the Geneva motor show and also pave the way for two new model introductions that will strengthen its European model range in the coming months.

The FT-86 Open and Toyota i-Road concepts will be sharing the spotlight with the new, British-built Auris Touring Sports and the fourth-generation RAV4 compact SUV.

FT-86 Open concept

The Toyota FT-86 Open concept previews a possible future development of the award-winning GT86 sports coupe. The show car will help Toyota gauge public reaction to the idea, at the same time as it carries out engineering tests on a prototype.

Toyota i-Road

The Toyota i-Road has been conceived as a compact, fun and emissions-free personal mobility concept, designed to offer quick and efficient urban transport for two people.

Auris Touring Sports

Toyota will unveil the production-ready Auris Touring Sports at Geneva, having previewed the estate version of its Auris model at the Paris motor show last year. It will publish full specifications, dimensions and performance data for the new, British-built model, which will go on sale later this year.

Toyota intends Auris Touring Sports to become a new reference point in the market for medium-size estate cars, supported by its strong, contemporary styling, excellent luggage capacity and unique-in-segment full hybrid powertrain option.

The model's debut will be supported by the presentation of a special design study, the Auris Touring Sports Black.

RAV4

The fourth generation RAV4 will be appearing at a European motor show for the first time, coinciding with its market launch in Europe. The new model builds on its pioneering heritage, putting a greater emphasis on the qualities demanded by the modern families that are at the heart of its target market, without sacrificing its core values.

The new model offers distinctive styling, a high quality interior, greater efficiency and improvements to its all-wheel drive system that help deliver a more engaging drive.

RAV4's debut will be supported by two special design studies, the RAV4 Premium and RAV4 Adventure.

Press conference

Toyota will host a press conference on Stand 4.111 at 1pm on Tuesday, 5 March.

Brownsburg, IN (February 21, 2013). Ken Stout Racing Inc. (KSR) today announced receipt of the highly anticipated, newly developed TRD supercharger for their Scion FR-S racecar. While most of us last week were receiving chocolates and cards for Valentine’s Day, KSR received the best gift ever in the form of the first-ever TRD supercharger built specifically for the FR-S. KSR will race the FR-S in the Pirelli World Challenge GTS class in 2013 with Robert Stout, the 2010 Pirelli World Challenge Touring Car Champion, behind the wheel.

At the SEMA Show and the unveiling of their FR-S, KSR teased the industry with news that a supercharger was going to be developed for the car – the go ahead to develop the supercharger was given at the SEMA Show. The TRD team, in collaboration with their business partner Magnuson Products LLC, developed and built the supercharger for the car in an impressive 15 weeks. CAD data was quickly developed after SEMA and a focused group of the best engineers in the world went to work delivering the completed supercharger to KSR on February 14th.

“The concept for this unit was just a thought in somebody’s mind at the SEMA show,” said KSR Team Principal Ken Stout. “It went from a thought, to CAD data, to the real thing in about 15 weeks! They also delivered it three days before their predicted deadline, very impressive indeed. We are honored to be the flagship team for TRD in the development of their supercharger.”

“This has been a collaboration of great minds with years of experience using the most sophisticated tooling in the industry,” added Stout. “Thank you to Brent Craig of TRD for allowing this project to take place and Steve Hatanaka of Scion for his instrumental part of the equation as well.”

The development of the FR-S platform is a massive project to say the least and KSR has received significant support from over 25 companies to date.

“This has been a wonderful experience to see everybody pull together,” said Stout. “World-class companies are developing race quality parts for every aspect of this car that we will put to the test and racers from around the world will use. What an exciting time for all of us! The guys are already working on the next one, but as of now this is the only TRD supercharger built for the Scion FR-S in the world. To watch the complexity of this project take place so quickly is extraordinary. Now it’s time to put it to work!”

“New product development is always exciting,” said Ted Moncure, P.E. TRD, F-Sport and Functional Accessory Design Engineering Manager.

Toyota Motor Sales USA Ken Nunn, Technical Director for Magnuson Products along with Ted Moncure also added “Coupling the latest Eaton TVS rotor technology with a dual intercooler system significantly increases boost while keeping inlet air temperatures low, improving both power and efficiency throughout the rev range. We are all very excited to see this project develop and are eager to see the results of our efforts.”

KSR’s FR-S will feature the FA-20 boxer power plant paired with the newly developed TRD supercharger to boost horsepower to competitive levels for the Pirelli World Challenge GTS class. KSR with their TRD Supercharged Scion FR-S will compete against Chevrolet Camaros, Ford Mustangs, Acura TSXs and Porsche Cayman in the Pirelli World Challenge GTS class.

Organized under the leadership of Ken Stout, award -winning motorsports commentator and automotive enthusiast, KSR has competed for seven years in various levels of motorsports and will make its sports car racing pro level debut in 2013 in Pirelli World Challenge. Since 2011, Robert Stout has been competing in GT, GS and ST classes in Grand Am. During his first year in Grand Am, Stout led numerous races and qualified as high as 2nd while earning five top 10′s and one top five in 10 GS races.

In 2013, Stout will return to Pirelli World Challenge where he had a stellar 2010 season piloting a Scion tC in Touring Car. Stout took home the Drivers’ Championship, Rookie of the Year and Sunoco Hard Charger Awards in his rookie season in Pirelli World Challenge on the strength of five wins, nine podium finishes, 11 top five results in 12 starts and one pole. Stout’s performance also led Scion to their first ever Touring Car Manufacturers’ Championship beating out Honda, Mazda and VW for the title. Stout became the youngest winner and Champion in World Challenge history at 18 years old, as well as winning the most prestigious street race in the US, the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

About Ken Stout Racing (KSR) Inc.: Ken Stout Racing, based out of Brownsburg, IN, is a factory-supported partnership with Scion/TRD. Led by Ken Stout, award-winning motorsports commentator and automotive enthusiast, the team will debut the Scion FR-S in sports car racing in the Pirelli World Challenge GTS class in 2013. Former 2010 Pirelli World Challenge Touring Car Drivers’ Champion Robert Stout will pilot the car.

Ken Stout Racing acknowledges its tremendous partners:
About Scion: Scion, from Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc., was developed with a new generation of youthful buyers in mind. Scion’s mission is to provide distinctive products, the opportunity to personalize, and an innovative, consumer-driven process at the retail level. The brand features five groundbreaking models with a wide array of standard features: the xD urban subcompact five-door, the iconic xB urban utility vehicle, the tC sports coupe, the premium micro-subcompact iQ and the FR-S rear-wheel drive sports car. The Scion brand often applies new practices in all aspects of its business and pushes the creativity envelope with non-traditional advertising and marketing to engage young consumers. Scion also supports originality through its programs in the artistic community. For more information, visit RobertStoutRacing.com and Scion.com