Scion FR-S Details Emerge on Fan Site Club4AG

A frequent complaint about Toyota has been the company's focus on uninspiring, bland designs that forsake any kind of excitement. For those looking for performance models and an engaging driving experience, there are no offerings.

That is a dangerous position to be for a mainstream manufacturer that needs to engage enthusiasts and the youth market. The super expensive LFA isn't going to cut it in this regard. The joint Toyota/Subaru sportscar, previewed by the original FT-86 Concept and followed by the Scion FR-S Concept, is Toyota's answer to this problem.

A new report on fan forum Club4AG says that the car is being developed with no expenses spared, and sheds light on some interesting details about the cars program. This information was gleaned from a meeting between site member Moto-P and chief project engineer Tetsuya Tada.

Toyota is assigning top priority to the program, with Chief Executive Officer Akio Toyoda personally overseeing and selecting key people involved in the program. He is even said to stop in and drive the car, giving it a major champion within the company.

While there is a lot of hype and excitement (this a major fan), there are a few pieces of information that stick out. For one, the dash is reportedly being designed to easily accommodate a roll cage without requiring the dash to be cut up. This would enable the car to be easily used in competitions. Under the hood, the car would have mounts to easily switch out to Subaru's boxer four-cylinder.

The standard Toyota engine is said to get its sounds tuned by Yamaha, in order to have a top notch aural experience worthy of the car's aspirations. Interestingly, the website member also floats the idea of no CD player or navigation system. This would save weight and cut down on cost. There would be an iPod/MP3 player hookup though - and the thinking is that this would be the perfect setup for the younger buyers Toyota is aiming for with this.

We're keen on seeing if this information turns out to carry over to the production car, and more excited than ever before for the new sportscar to be unveiled.