As Reba McEntire tells it, success in life requires just three things: a wishbone, a backbone, and a funny bone. Assuming those bones are all indiscernible from a distance, this is a fitting analogy for the trio of rear-wheel-drive coupes from Subaru, Toyota, and Scion. If not, we’ve got a three-legged-stool metaphor that might interest you. Either way, here’s the last part of the three-similar-piece puzzle: Scion’s version of the jointly developed sports car, which will retain the FR-S name of its concept forebear.
As we noted when they debuted in Tokyo earlier this week, the Toyota (GT) 86 and the Subaru BRZ are identical save for some minor cosmetic differences. The FR-S, as expected, looks most similar to its Toyota sibling—meaning it has the same front and rear fascias, and it gets the cool “86″ boxer logo for its front fenders. The only real difference is the Scion badge in place of Toyota’s encircled T logo. And, like the rest of the brand’s offerings, the FR-S will get its own Pioneer head units. Only the Scion and the Subaru will be sold in the U.S., while Toyota’s offering is headed for non-Scion markets (i.e. everywhere else).
About the only other new information we learned from the announcement is that the engine will require premium fuel to make the claimed 197 hp and 151 lb-ft of torque. We presume that will be true of all versions, regardless of brand, as they share the same 2.0-liter boxer four. Likewise, the Scion will offer the same choice of six-speed manual or automatic transmissions.
The FR-S goes on sale in the spring of 2012. Now all that’s left for us to do is drive the thing. Oh, we already did? We’ll have to make sure it handles as well with these badges and exposed paint.
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