Originally launched in 2003 as a forward-thinking brand aimed at young buyers looking for something distinct and inexpensive, Scion has been on a downward spiral over the last few years. Last year, sales dropped by 75 percent from just a few years prior and today, Scion just isn't much of a sales force.

Scion and parent company Toyota are banking on the FR-S, which was introduced in concept form in New York last week, to change all that. The reason that Toyota chose to brand the car a Scion here in the United States (it will be a Toyota in Japan and other countries) is to give the brand the shot in the arm that it needs to rebound back toward success. If anything has the potential to turn an ailing, youth-focused brand around, it seems like it would be a cherry-red sports coupe.

Scion exec Jack Hollis expressed much optimism in an interview with Bloomberg: "This is a halo car for our brand. It's going to stretch us further as a brand."

While similar to Toyota's FT-86, the Scion FR-S showed its own distinctive flair in New York. How far apart the final production versions will be remains to be seen.

In terms of power, they'll both use a Subaru-sourced 2.0-liter boxer four-cylinder engine expected to put out around 200 hp. The Scion version will come with six-speed manual or automatic transmission options.

Both the FT-86 and FR-S will hit the market next year. Final pricing is up in the air, but Hollis told Bloomberg that the FR-S will base between the $19,000 tC and $30,000.

[Bloomberg]