2009 Scion on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Toyota GT86 gets TRD treatment in UK

As dearly as we love the Toyota GT86 / Scion FR-S / Subaru BRZ franchise, we readily admit we wouldn't look sideways at a model with a bit more firepower. And while that's not quite on the table yet, Toyota has been busy amping up the visual firepower of its rear-drive coupe with a whole host of TRD parts. To this point, that's been a largely à la carte affair, but the automaker's UK outpost has just announced a special-edition model that allows our British friends to pick up the whole shooting match all in one go.
The Toyota GT86 TRD will only be available in black and white, and just 250 examples are to be built. As you can see from the excellent gallery above, the catalog of look-faster bits include a more aggressive front air dam, side skirts, rear bumper fascia, spoiler and unique 18-inch forged alloys. Additional flourishes include a TRD shift lever and branded radiator cap. The sole concession to actual performance? A "fast-response quad exhaust" that might only improve things audibly - 0-62 mph is apparently unchanged at 7.7 seconds, and the top end is still 140 mph for the manual transmission model. (The auto gets by with 8.4 seconds and 130 mph).
Pricing? Glad you asked. £31,495 for GT 86 TRD manual, £32,995 for the automatic - that's nearly $50,000 US for the tripedalist and just over for the automatic. (Those are heady prices, but bear in mind that UK MSRPs and taxes are generally significantly higher than their US counterparts). If the standard GT86 is more your speed, it still rings up at a more affordable £24,995 - roughly $39,500 - leaving plenty of budget for actual performance parts. No word yet on North American availability of a special TRD model, but we've got a call in...

Leaked Toyota FT-86 Open concept images preview droptop Scion FR-S [w/video]

Here it is, folks - the highly anticipated Toyota FT-86 Open concept, a precursor to what could become a road-going Scion FR-S convertible. A full smattering of images and video have leaked onto the internet, and thanks to the folks at FT86Club.com, we can now see the new hotness that Toyota will be unveiling at the Geneva Motor Show next week.
These images confirm details that were first seen in spy shots captured a couple of weeks ago - namely, the larger wheel/tire package and the inclusion of the Toyobaru coupe's decidedly useless rear seats. These new photos, however, show a two-tone leather interior with goodies such as an iPod/iPhone mount on the dashboard. The concept car is also fitted with the coupe's six-speed automatic transmission (boo!) and FT86Club.com reports that the folding soft top is operated electronically.
We'll have the full details live from Geneva in just a few days. For now, click through our attached image gallery to see lots of pretty pictures of the topless wonder, and scroll down for a video to see the concept in motion.

Scion gets touchscreen audio across the board

On a constant mission to court younger buyers, Scion will be adding some new in-car technology to its lineup for the 2014 model year. All Scion products will now come standard with a 6.1-inch touchscreen audio head unit that we first saw on the 2014 tC (as shown above).
In standard form, this head unit will feature HD Radio, Bluetooth and auxiliary and USB ports. Opting for the $1,198 BeSpoke Premium system brings navigation, integrated social media apps, geo-located POIs and Aha internet radio.
Other changes announced along with the new touchscreen include new two-tone paint schemes for the 2014 xD, a limited-production iQ and pricing for the 2014 lineup. As shown in the gallery, customers can now choose from silver-on-blue and black-over-grey paint combos. The iQ Monogram gets a burgundy-over-silver paint job with a limited run of just 150 units, and it goes on sale in October starting at $16,520 (not including $755 for destination).