Toyota’s sub-FR-S coupe could be shown as a concept in Tokyo this fall

By Ronan Glon August 21, 2015

toyota small fr concept rumors news performance rendering 1 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Toyota will allegedly introduce a close-to-production concept called Small FR at the Tokyo Motor Show that will open its doors in late October.

As its name clearly implies, the Small FR Concept will take the form of a pint-sized sports car positioned below the Scion FR-S. Precisely how small it will actually be is up in the air, but sources close to Toyota have hinted it will tip the scale at no more than 2,160 pounds. An unofficial rendering published by Japanese magazine Best Car suggests the coupe could feature a heritage-laced design inspired by the 1965 Sports 800, Toyota’s first-ever sports car.

In its most basic state of tune, the Small FR Concept will be powered by a naturally-aspirated 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine that will make 128 horsepower. A manual transmission will spin the rear wheels, and more powerful engines could join the lineup a little later in the production run.

The Small FR Concept will ride on a brand new chassis that’s currently being developed and fine-tuned by Tommi Mäkinen, a four-time World Rally Championship (WRC) champion and the current boss of Toyota’s new WRC team.

According to Australian website Motoring, the concept that will be shown in Tokyo will be toned down slightly and added to Toyota’s global lineup in early 2017. Sold with a Scion emblem on our shores, it will carry a base price of approximately $15,000, a figure that will make it nearly $10,000 less expensive than a 2016 FR-S.

What’s next?

The Small FR Concept won’t be the only Toyota concept on display in Tokyo. The Japanese car maker will reportedly show a second close-to-production design study that will preview the long-awaited successor to the Supra.

Designed jointly with BMW, the next Supra is expected to feature a striking design, a state-of-the-art chassis crafted out of aluminum and carbon fiber, and a fuel-sipping plug-in hybrid drivetrain built around a BMW-sourced 3.0-liter straight-six engine.

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Ronan Glon is an American automotive and tech journalist based in southern France. As a long-time contributor to Digital…

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