Cat, say good-bye to the bag. Early this morning, scanned images of an accessory brochure for the upcoming rear-drive Toyota FT-86 sports car hit the web. The photos, although blurry, not only give away the FT-86’s production styling, but several cool features it might have as well. The FT-86 and its Subaru BRZ sibling are set to be officially unveiled at the upcoming Tokyo auto show. Here in the U.S., we will get the Subaru version and a Scion-badged FT-86 called the FR-S.
The exterior of the Toyota is largely predictable, and successfully cobbles together styling elements from the various concept cars that preceded it. The car’s profile, headlights, taillights, and rear diffuser are all familiar pieces. The front fascia is a bit toned down from the show cars’, which were festooned with LED running lights and barb-like splitter extensions; the production car has taken on a 2012 Camry SE-like mug. As we already mentioned, the leaked brochure is something of an accessory catalog, so the gaudy trim on the door and rocker panel extensions probably aren’t stock FT-86 fare.
Having never seen inside any of the FT-86 concept cars, we’re getting our first look at the Toyota’s interior with this brochure. The good news is that the cockpit appears functional and sporty, although we aren’t sure whether the trim and two-tone color scheme is stock or to what extent the interior in the photos has been accessorized. The gauge cluster puts the tachometer front and center, flanked by a speedometer to the left and fuel and temperature gauges to the right. The car’s front seats look very promising and feature large thigh and torso bolsters. The center stack is attractive and houses dual-zone climate controls, a starter button, and what looks like a radio-delete panel just below the center air vents. Unfortunately for the hard-core sports-car fans out there hoping for a stripped-out, lightweight model, we think the panel simply hides the audio controls (the interior has automatic climate control and seat heaters, so dropping the radio doesn’t make a whole lot of sense).
As previously reported, the FT-86 will be available with two six-speed transmissions—a manual and an automatic—and both can be seen in the photographs. Behind the shifter is a row of three buttons—the switch on the far left appears to turn off the traction control; the center button has the word “Sport” on it and is likely a more aggressive mode for the transmission; and finally, the one on the right looks like it says “VSC Sport.” (VSC is Toyota-speak for stability control.) We already like all three of those buttons. Here’s hoping the FT-86’s performance gear makes it into the Scion FR-S that will be sold here. For a few more pictures, check out the original post at carscoop.
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