(http://autoweek.com/article/car-news/scion-says-no-convertible-turbocharged-fr-s)
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Also known now is that there will be no convertible, which may let down a unique demographic who miss the satisfaction of the late S2000 but won't acknowledge the Miata's drop-top ability. No coupe will ever generate enough wind to showcase any given example of this enthusiast sets' presumably extensive scarf collections. Despite the style points lost within the dark, austere confines of a coupe, it's the extra weight inherently added that by design offsets the panoramic views afforded by a convertible. This goes against the FR-S/BR-Z twin's unspoken mission statement, which if ever decoded could read like the seemingly forgone proverb "Man maximum, machine minimum..." On such a hyped platform whose presence has marked the undeniable public attraction and demand for the classic formula of the lightweight rear-wheel drive sports car, no detail has been more scrutinized than its factory available power.
That it has underwhelmed respectable names in automotive media, numbed by constant exposure to largely unattainable super cars, is a subject whose effects can be traced back to the source. These sentiments have supplied the proliferating segment of unoriginal amateur reviewers with a cookie-cutter stance, allowing them a perch from which to speak upon without revealing their inexperience driving machinery potent enough to substantiate their criticism of the FR-S. Continuing on, as you trickle down to the lower rungs of experience in the hobby, some of the most discerning high school kids around are comfortable enough to say an FR-S is a slow car, but are quick to retort that it could be fixed with a "lil' boost."
At this point one will naturally ask "then why not turbocharge it?"
The order in which we phrase things matters. Consider the investment it often takes to turbocharge any car. If you look at aftermarket parts expenses as if they came attached to your window sticker, suddenly you'll find it cheaper to fly another manufacturer's flag and to exchange that giant "SCION" windshield decal accordingly. Say you bought your "no-haggle" FR-S at the friendly Scion dealership for $27,000 as the total price (Including title, tax, and registration) and add $4,000 for a turbo, your new total is now $31,000 and you haven't even installed the damn thing! All is well... Except that your newly found power will cost you time and money to retrofit and also your conservative faculties, since you didn't buy a turbo to cruise in 6th gear. So now you need (In the same way we need ground effects kits and cold air intakes) new wheels to fit bigger tires that can also make room for larger brakes. How deep in the hole are we, yet?
Having come up with a list of excuses commensurately resembling this ambitious build, let's give it another chance but while pondering from another angle: "why turbocharge it?"
At this point, I could refer you to a piece written early this year decrying the efforts of someone I know personally, who took on this plight righteously and without looking back.
This would seem to lead us to a point of losing all hope for the turbocharged FR-S or BR-Z. So then I ask myself why this man dedicated himself to this and remember my best friend's own experience turbocharging his FR-S.
[I PROPOSE A DOPE-ASS PICTURE OF YOUR CAR HERE, CHRIS]
Talk to any FR-S owner and literally all of them will share a parts list including a turbo, supercharger, or engine swap. This desire can get thrown into unrelated conversations as they stand there brimming with the urge to metaphorically convey that if the FR-S was a Cheesecake Factory chocolate cheesecake, it would be even better floating on hot fudge, littered with extra chips, and maybe even... more chocolate! Sometimes you won't even be talking with them and they will lure you in, just to be sure that strangers (Including ghouls like myself) are aware that this package could be that much better...
Try and find another car that reincarnates the tuners (The ones who coined the term- AKA, not your neighbor with the plasti-dipped Mazdaspeed3) reminiscent of the 2000's who would take perennially shaped econoboxes with Honda badges and essentially form stealth bombers on wheels, hell-bent on destroying every common notion describing what it took to be fast. The automotive network has collectively convinced its consumers that the FR-S/BR-Z are not exceptional and haven't given credit where it's due- not even on the one hundred horsepower per liter accomplished on the FA20 boxer engine. Though it has proven to be bothersome to me in the past that such strives could go unnoticed, causing late-night cold sweats, the warm radiance of the thought cloud housing the brilliance behind a turbocharged FR-S is what now keeps me up, fantasizing on what it must be like to own and drive every day.
Luckily, I'm living it vicariously. I'm here to tell you that even at $35- 40k there is nothing that would match the purpose of going fast at the expense of almost all else better than the turbocharged FR-S. Unlike a 370Z, you even get four seats... Just in case. And yes, if you need to be somewhere you can be make the rear seats work on a last ditch effort by threatening to leave behind one or both of your two extra, whiny occupants. (More legroom for all who walk!) Maybe they'll get picked up by someone in an STI or soon to be obsoleted EVO and enjoy a bit of perilous all-wheel drive drifting on the way home, instead. A Camaro SS or Challenger R/T could provide the closest sensation to driving an FR-S... An FR-S towing a small trailer hauling cartoonish Warner Brothers anchors, should you want to go that route. And Mustangs just flat out SUCK GASSY WINDS. [Hope you laughed- I'm taking that part out] These heavier cars require more deliberate corner entries and exits that don't match the finesse and forgiving nature of our example FR-S. Well, not at this price point anyway.
And while we're on the topic of money, one final example: Yes, a 335 with a handling package sounds grand- it can even make more power than the best of BMW's 3-Series offerings- the might "M," a name so telling, it essentially stands for "10/10." But alas, the elephant in the room that will always crush this parade in a spectacular way will be the monumental task of containing (Without resorting to suppressing) other enthusiasts inevitable comparisons to in conversation. There's no getting around that. Going to say it flat out: It will never be better! Bwahaha... (Catch you later- going in hiding for a bit) That is, unless you enjoy the new blend of modern V8-esque levels of brute power and that timeless BMW pedigree. That's really what it comes down to. I concede that if you want options, they're there... Just don't discount the turbo FR-S!
If you haven't TRULY (Be honest) had the liberty of taking the competition through the rounds in a measurable fashion, your word doesn't count and your made nobody's given you a ride yet. You aren't qualified to appraise the worthiness of improvements directly attributable to the turbocharger on an FR-S or to make confounded assertions that the competition offers more by default. The lack of appreciation for all that is great around us now is nestled in the anxiety behind waiting for the future. Everything we know now will be bested eventually.
Until the FR-S, if ever, comes with a turbo from the factory, this debate over whether its already low power-to-weight will stay relevant. For now it is an extremely competitive car at its price point and a natural stud among still capable front-drivers and muscular cruisers.
Until the FR-S, if ever, comes with a turbo from the factory, this debate over whether its already low power-to-weight will stay relevant. For now it is an extremely competitive car at its price point and a natural stud among still capable front-drivers and muscular cruisers.
