TRD Teases New GT-86 (Scion FR-S) Concept For Tokyo

By Kurt Ernst

Kurt Ernst

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Kurt has been fascinated by anything with wheels and a motor for a long time. Growing up, he spent his spare time turning wrenches and pumping gas in... More

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2,546 views Jan 2, 2013

TRD's Griffon Concept - image: TRD

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The Gazoo Racing variant will feature a twin-charged engine (combining both turbocharging and supercharging), said to be good for some 325 horsepower, and it will sport track-inspired bodywork including an oversized rear wing.

To avoid being overshadowed by Gazoo Racing, World Car Fans says that Toyota Racing Development (TRD) is also planning a GT-86-based concept for the Tokyo Auto Salon, to be called the 86 TRD Griffon. TRD released the deliberately-fuzzy image shown here, so we'll need to wait for Tokyo to get a better idea of the car's lines.

While details on the car’s power output are lacking, details on its performance have been leaked by TRD. The Griffon managed to lap Japan’s Tsukuba Circuit in 1:01.872, which makes it nearly 0.4 seconds faster per lap than a Ferrari 458 Italia.

According to TRD, the Griffon features a lighter and stiffer body, a “track-oriented” suspension and a free-flowing exhaust system. We’d bet that there’s some forced induction in the mix, too, although TRD isn’t releasing further details until the Tokyo show.

The Toyota / Scion / Subaru models were always meant to be a blank canvas for owners to customize based on styling and performance preferences. We’re glad to see TRD working alongside tuners to push the performance envelope for these remarkably-capable-yet-still-affordable cars.