Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Cars
  3. Photo Galleries
  4. Legacy Archives

This shag-swaddled Scion xB channels the ’70s right down to the CB and 8-track

By
Add as a preferred source on Google

With its latest batch of SEMA show cars, Scion seems to inadvertently gone back in time, dredging up some styling right out of the Disco Decade.

The top attraction at Scion’s 2014 SEMA booth will probably be the FR-S T1, which features a targa-style roof. Toyota’s youth brand might have been envisioning a poor man’s Porsche 911 Targa, but the T1 seems a bit more Smokey & The Bandit.

Those rear window slats look like they belong on a 1970s Firebird, Camaro, or Mustang. In addition to its cropped top, the FR-S gets custom 19-inch wheels, lowered suspension, and a Greddy-supplied turbocharged.

While this show car may seem to hint a production FR-S targa, don’t get your hopes up.

There have rumors of an FR-S convertible (among other things) almost since the beginning, but Toyota isn’t interested in producing any other variants of the small sports car right now.

Related: 2015 Scion FR-S gets suspension and appearance upgrades

Continuing the ’70s theme is the “Scion x Riley Hawk Skate Tour xB,” which was inspired by the “interests of professional skateboarder Riley Hawk.”

Those interests apparently revolve around retro vans, because that’s what this xB is. Check out the brown-on-brown interior, shag carpeting, and porthole side window. It’s even got a pop-up camper top and (non-functioning) dual side exhaust pipes.

Completing the trio is the “Scion x Slayer Mobile Amp tC,” inspired by, yes, the metal band Slayer. So it gets a paint job with plenty of airbrushed skulls, “sword-blade” wheels with spike center caps, and suicide doors.

It sounds like the perfect car to take out tonight for a Halloween cruise.

To help wake the dead (and your neighbors) while doing that, the customized tC has a Pioneer audio system with tower speakers, as well as a 32-inch monitor.

Scion needs to generate some excitement with modified cars because customers seem to have lost interest in the ones it actually sells. That’s why a couple of weeks after SEMA, the brand will unveil its iM concept at the 2014 Los Angeles Auto Show.

We’ll have all of the details on that and more soon.

Stephen Edelstein
Stephen Edelstein
Former Contributing Editor
Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…
Topics
Cambrige experts find utterly simple fix for longer lasting EV batteries. Just put some pressure on it.
Scientists found a way to make EV batteries last longer without reinventing the battery
EV Charging

EV battery breakthroughs typically involve new chemistry, exotic materials, or faster charging/higher capacity. But a new study reveals that you can skip all the fancy stuff and go with a very simple solution, Researchers from the University of Cambridge found that putting the battery under the right amount of pressure actually helps.

The study was about how physical pressure affects lithium-ion battery life, which found that keeping cells under constant pressure could double their lifespan. The work was published in Nature Energy, and the team says the improvement came without changing the active materials, electrolyte, or basic battery chemistry.

Read more
BMW reveals redesigned X5 with petrol, hybrid, EV, and hydrogen options
BMW couldn't decide on a powertrain, so it launched all of them
BMW X5

BMW has pulled the wraps off the fifth-generation X5, giving one of its best-selling luxury SUVs its biggest overhaul yet. The new model brings a fresh Neue Klasse-inspired design, a completely redesigned interior, and the broadest choice of powertrains the X5 has ever offered. Alongside petrol, diesel, and plug-in hybrid versions, BMW has introduced the first fully electric iX5, while confirming that a hydrogen-powered X5 will join the lineup at a later stage.

More powertrain choices, more technology, and a fresh design

Read more
Tesla has a battery theft problem
Even Tesla's batteries can't wait to hit the road
Tesla cars at Superchargers

Tesla is facing an unusual security problem in the US, and it is happening before many of its batteries even make it onto the road. According to an investigation by WIRED, multiple truckloads of Tesla batteries have allegedly been stolen directly from the company's Nevada Gigafactory, highlighting a growing wave of organised cargo theft targeting high-value technology shipments.

Cargo theft is becoming a serious problem for Tesla

Read more