Development Far Along on Scion FR-S Hybrid

A few weeks ago we reported confirmation of a more powerful Scion FR-S heading for showrooms. In that story we gave you three possibilities for how the FR-S could go faster. One approach could have been through turbocharging. Another could have been a larger-displacement engine. We believed the least likely method for making the FR-S more spunky in a straight line was through the use of a hybrid system, but new reports are changing the odds.

Toyota’s senior drive train engineering chief, Koei Saga, says the company is rather far along in developing a Toyota 86 Hybrid that could make its way here to the United States as a Scion FR-S Hybrid.

Saga told Autocar at the Frankfurt Motor Show, “The development work is quite advanced now, so if the green light is given, we are ready to do it.”

One of the FR-S’s hallmarks is its light weight. A hybrid FR-S could take away some of the magic, but Saga seems optimistic: “With a good layout design, we think that even if it may be a bit heavier, it can be a fun car to drive.”

Saga stopped short of saying the Toyota 86 Hybrid was headed for production, but he did say, “I think it won’t be very far in the future that the green light will come.”

image [Autocar]