At the 2012 SEMA Show, we got a look at a few Scion Toyota sponsored FR-s models featuring superchargers strapped to the tops of their 200-horsepower boxer engines. With that, we began wondering if Toyota was planning to add a supercharger to the FR-S mix and if this was a way to see how the FR-S would respond to it. Sure, Toyota played the denial game in terms of a turbocharged model, but nothing was ever said about a supercharger.
A new report from Car and Driver, following a sit down with TRD at SEMA, is showing that there is interest in adding a supercharger to the line of manufacturer-backed performance upgrades. While there is still no official confirmation, the pure fact that TRD would confirm that there is interest pretty much locks it in. Manufacturers will rarely offer up information on unconfirmed products, let alone let loose that there is an interest.
There, of course, are no specifications to release yet, as TRD is obviously still in R&D mode with this experiment. Given Toyota has to strap a warranty to this package; we wouldn’t expect to see much more than about 6 pounds of boost. While there are too many variables to be accurate on estimate output, this would likely equate out to a 60 to 70-horsepower gain from a supercharger on top of the Scion’s engine.
For now, we are simply speculating, but a 270-horsepower, supercharged FR-S sure does sound like load of fun to us! We’ll keep a very close eye on this situation and get you updates as soon as they come out.
