What is going on at Toyota? Not so long ago, they were called the most boring car company in the industry. Now they have one of the most exciting lineups around, with one AWD hot hatch and two rear-wheel-drive sports cars. Soon, they might be adding another to the mix, says a new report out of Japan.
The Toyota S-FR concept was revealed almost a decade ago at the 2015 Tokyo Motor Show. Inspired by the 1965 Toyota Sports 800, the lightweight FR sportster would have been the littlest in then-CEO Akio Toyoda’s dream of having a trio of Toyota sports car brothers. However, aside from a race car variant of the concept at the following year’s Tokyo Auto Salon, there’s been no official movement on the S-FR.
However, Forbes is now reporting, via a print edition of Best Car, that Toyota is working on a production version. They say it will be produced in conjunction with Daihatsu and Suzuki. Toyota owns the former outright and has a 5 percent stake in the latter. The S-FR will supposedly share a platform with the Daihatsu Vision Copen from last year’s Tokyo Mobility Show.
If that’s true, it would explain why the Vision Copen switched from FF to FR, and grew beyond kei-car size restrictions. Forbes says that the S-FR will be powered by a turbo 1.3-liter making 150 horsepower (but they likely mean 150 ps). That’s the same displacement and output of the engine that is said to be powering another upcoming Toyota performance car, the GR Starlet.
The article says that the S-FR will also have a smaller grille and redesigned headlights. Its expected release date is late 2026 or early 2027, and that it will cost around ¥3.5 million ($22,700 USD). They say it might even come to the US, since it’s about the size of a Miata. In fact, we’re almost certain it was a Miata.
If all the recent rumors about Toyota prove true, it will have an absolutely bonkers lineup for enthusiasts. In terms of FR sports cars alone, it will have the S-FR, GR86, and Supra. Add to that the GR Starlet, GR Yaris, GR Corolla, and possibly a revival of the Celica. That’s an insane seven performance cars, and we’re not even counting the IS500, RC F, and LC500 on the Lexus side. Whatever they’ve put in the water in Aichi, please don’t change a thing.
I held out hope for a long time for the S-FR, and occasionally trolled Toyota USA social medias about it. It was basically the only thing I’ve ever used Twitter for.
I won’t get my hopes up too much, but it’d be great if it actually happened AND came to the US. Personally, I’m fine with 150hp in a lightweight FR if the price stays reasonable.
It’s so cute! I would love to have an S-FR next to my FR-S. Here’s hoping it’s the closest thing we can get to a GR Copen in the states.
I presently own a 1999 5thgen Honda Prelude with a manual shift, I would sell my weekend Prelude then buy this Toyota S-FR today if it was available USDM!!