Car Moon

Toyota officially placed the arrival of the all-new 2012 Camry sedan and its hybrid sibling (2010/2011 Camry pictured above) in the U.S. market for this fall during the company’s annual national dealer meeting which took place on Wednesday in Las Vegas.

The Japanese company said that the next generation of its best-selling model will move away from the conservative designs of the past.

“Designed to meet the changing needs of the 21st Century driver, the new Camry will provide technologically advanced features, a contemporary design inside and out, improved performance and refined ride and handling,” Toyota said in a press statement.

While Toyota’s European engineers are putting the final touches on the production version of the FT-86, here in North America, the Japanese company’s Scion brand is trying to keep the hype going around the FR-S concept car, which debuted at the New York International Auto Show in April.

Scion released two new videos on the its upcoming rear-wheel drive sports car hosted by Ken Gushi, a resident Scion Racing driver who currently pilots a 2009 tC in the Formula Drift series, and Jack Hollis, the Japanese firm’s Vice President.

The two men talk about the FR-S and how it came to be. You can watch the clips by following the jump below.

If anything else, spy photographers have their work cut out with the new Toyota FT-86 sports coupe. As we are nearing closer to the launch of the production model, the Japanese automaker has increased its presence at the Nordschleife circuit in Germany to fine tune the chassis and mechanical hardware, with this latest scoop video showing a camouflaged prototype in action. Read more »

By now, you have probably already seen our spy shots of the kitted-out Toyota FT-86 prototype with the Supra-like rear wing, which was snagged during testing in Germany, but one scoopster managed to film the sports car on the road as well.

Now that the international auto show circus has shifted into neutral gear for the summer, Toyota is back at the Nurburgring trying out its upcoming FT-86 rear-wheel drive sports coupe, which is been co-developed with Subaru. The prototype seen in these fresh spy spots appears to be wearing a production bodywork while also featuring a host of aero fittings, the most prominent of which is the jumbo-size rear wing that brings to mind the last Supra.

Talking about the Toyota brand’s last sports coupe with a rear-wheel drive layout, as you can see for yourself in our photo gallery, a mid-90’s example of the Supra was spotted traveling alongside the FT-86 at the Nurburgring. Observing the two cars together, it is not hard to see the resemblance.

In keeping enthusiasts on their toes, Toyota’s European division came out with a new release today on its upcoming FT-86 sports coupe. The Japanese automaker confirmed that the production version will go on sale in 2012 with power coming from by Subaru's new 2.0-liter 4-cylinder boxer engine fitted with Toyota's D-4S technology. The latter consists of direct injection combined with port injection.

We still don’t get any output numbers although Toyota says the D4-S technology “results in increased horsepower and torque without sacrificing fuel consumption and environmental performance.” Subaru's latest 2.0-liter horizontally opposed gasoline engine, which is offered on the all-new Impreza, develops 148 horsepower and 145 lb-ft (197 Nm) of torque, but in the case of the FT-86, output is expected to increase significantly.

Toyota’s FT-86 sports coupe has to be one of the most hotly anticipated cars of the last ten years. A sporty, lightweight, front-engined and rear-wheel-drive spiritual successor to the legendary AE86, brought to you by the same company that built the Celica, MR2 and Supra? Yes, please!

So far, we’ve had three iterations of the “AE86 Nouveau”. First, there’s the original, scene stealing Toyota FT-86 Concept from the2009 Tokyo Motor Show. Then there’s the much derided FT-86 II Concept from Geneva 2011. And lastly, there’s the Ferrari-emulating Scion FR-S that took the 2011 New York Auto Show by storm.

Toyota’s North American subsidiary, Scion, surprised us today at the opening of the 2011 New York Auto Show with the world premiere of its new FR-S sports coupe concept. We say ‘surprised’ not because we weren’t expecting a Scion-badged Toyota FT-86 to make its appearance in the Big Apple, but because of its refined design that made us forget about the FT-86 II concept we saw less than two months ago at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show. Read more »

The most hotly anticipated model of the New York Auto Show, Scion’s version of the Toyota FT-86 sports coupe concept, finally made its world premiere today. The study is named FR-S, which stands for ‘Front-Engine, Rear-wheel drive, Sport’, though we prefer the definition given by Jack Hollis, Scion vice president, during the New York Show presentation.

“FR-S stands for Front-engine… Rear-wheel drive… Sport. Pretty simple. I personally believe it should stand for Friggin’ Really Sweet… but the legal department at Toyota was NOT feeling the same way,” said Hollis.

The first thing most readers will notice about the FR-S is the refined design compared to the latest concept version of the Toyota FT-86, shown in Geneva this past March. Though it’s hard to pinpoint all the changes without having the cars side by side, the photos reveal a tweaked front end with revamped headlamps and a different bumper design without the aftermarket like add-on LED strips.

Anticipation is running so high for Scion’s version of the Toyota FT-86 sports coupe that some couldn’t wait for the official reveal of the FR-S later today at the New York Auto Show, and dropped the first pictures of the car onto the web.

From what we can tell from these two photos, the Japanese automaker has changed the design again with the FR-S sporting a new front bumper that does away with the Geneva Show FT-86 II’s aftermarket-like LED strips, while also featuring a different rear bumper and diffuser, as well as more pronounced rear fenders. The gaudy side vents are also gone while the study is equipped with different exterior mirrors.