So we’ve got good news and bad news. The good news is that the FR-S will almost certainly be getting a more powerful version. Power is really the only thing that’s holding the car back and everyone knows it. Traditionally there have been three ways to do this. You can either increase displacement, add boost, or strap a battery of rockets to the roof. The bad news is Toyota probably isn’t considering any of these options.
The weird news, is that they’re talking about making it a hybrid.
Now before you grab your pitchforks and storm off to your local Toyota dealership with a can of kerosene… Watch this video
That is the kind of hybrid they’re thinking about. According to Top Gear magazine, the FR-S chief engineer thinks that Toyota’s hybrid technology could be a good fit for the FR-S. Not because it would be more like a Prius, but because it would be more like one of their Le Mans racers. Ideally, they would use something like the KERS system which stores electricity from braking to give the car an extra, instantaneous boost of power.
The downside is a lack of tunability. The upsides are instantaneous response, a sky high revline, no extra emissions, and a car that sounds like it has warp-drive. I’d say that’s blessing, not a curse. What do you think?
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