Making of the Scion FR-S: Behind the Design and Engineering

By ScionOwners Staff •

The Scion FR-S didn’t happen by accident. Behind the finished car was years of collaboration between Toyota and Subaru — and a genuine commitment to building something that would make enthusiasts forget about the disappearing affordable sports car.

The Brief: Bring Back the AE86

Toyota’s internal project name — “FT-86” — said everything. The FT stood for “Future Toyota,” but the 86 was a direct homage to the AE86 Corolla Levin/Trueno that had defined a generation of grassroots motorsport in the 1980s.

The brief was deceptively simple: build a lightweight, naturally aspirated, rear-wheel drive sports car that any enthusiast could afford. Nothing like this existed in Toyota’s lineup, and hadn’t for decades.

The Toyota-Subaru Partnership

The decision to co-develop with Subaru was driven by mutual benefit:

  • Toyota needed Subaru’s horizontally opposed (boxer) engine expertise and its manufacturing relationship
  • Subaru needed Toyota’s chassis dynamics knowledge and its global dealer network

The resulting powertrain combined Subaru’s FA20 2.0L boxer architecture with Toyota’s D-4ST fuel injection (a dual direct/port injection system unique to the Toyota version). Toyota took the lead on chassis dynamics; Subaru contributed the engine and AWD experience that informed the RWD layout choices.

The Low Center of Gravity Philosophy

Every decision in the FR-S/86/BRZ’s development was filtered through one priority: low center of gravity.

  • The boxer engine sits lower than any conventional inline-4 or V6
  • The horizontally opposed layout allows the engine to sit further back in the chassis
  • The 6-speed manual transmission is compact and low-mounted
  • Even the battery was relocated to the trunk to improve weight distribution

The result was a center of gravity roughly equivalent to a Ferrari 360 Modena — an extraordinary achievement for a $24,000 car.

Design: Tetsuya Tada’s Vision

Chief engineer Tetsuya Tada had one design constraint that overrode all others: the driver had to be able to see the front fenders from the cockpit. This meant a low hood line, which dictated the entire front-end proportion.

The long hood, short rear deck, and cab-rearward stance that resulted are what make the FR-S/86 immediately recognizable — and they all flow from that single engineering priority.

What the FR-S Proved

When it launched in 2012, the FR-S answered a question the industry had been quietly avoiding: yes, you can still build an affordable sports car. Yes, people will buy it. Yes, it matters.

The first-generation sold strongly, inspired a second generation, and created a tuner ecosystem that’s still thriving today.