The collaborative effort between Subaru and Toyota that resulted in the fun-as-heck Subaru BRZ and Scion FR-S sports coupes is a gift from the sports car gods to the many folks who want an affordable “real” sports car (outside of a Miata).
But the missing bit of fun has always been a convertible version of the dynamic duo, and last year Toyota rolled the slick FT-86 Open Concept onto the show floor in Geneva. The response was positive, so when is it going to hit showrooms?
Subaru brand chief Yasuyuki Yoshinaga told Automotive News, “We make the car, so if we don’t make it, it can’t happen.” To which Toyota has apparently replied: not so fast, Subaru.
According to an interview with a Scion VP conducted by Wards Auto, cash-flush Toyota – Scion’s sugar daddy – might forge ahead on its own to build a ragtop FR-S independent of Subaru. C&D says their source indicates Toyota is looking into what would mods the chassis would require, how much the price might rise and other parts requirements.
Even if it does get built, Car and Driver notes that it would more likely come in the next iteration of the pocket rocket BRZ/FR-S and may get the GT-86 moniker, if it comes down the pipe at all. And then there’s the question of if it will even hit American shores. We can only hope.
If it does materialize in FR-S/BRZ Version 2.0, let’s hope they find some way to drop another 50 (or many more) ponies into the engine along the way.
