“I hope to make an engine upgrade at least one time with this car,” admitted FR-S chief engineer Tetsuya Tada in an interview with Australia’s Drive magazine.  “We have already tried all of the possibilities and there are several [FR-S] prototypes at the Toyota proving ground now: One is equipped with a turbocharger, one has a bigger displacement engine and the last one boasts a special hybrid system.  All of the possibilities are being considered.”
Tada declined to provide technical details, but rumors suggest the larger engine would take the form of a 2.5-liter flat-four that would generate about 254 horsepower, a 54-pony increase over the 2.0-liter flat-four currently found in the engine bay of the FR-S.
If Toyota picks the hybrid route, the gasoline-electric drivetrain will be considerably simpler and cheaper to produce than the one found under the skin of the Prius in order to keep the coupe’s price within Toyota’s target bracket and avoid adding too much weight.
Finally, the forced induction option would likely require the smallest investment because Toyota partner Subaru already fits certain Forester models with a turbocharged variant of the flat-four rated at 250 horsepower and 258 lb-ft. of torque.
The more potent version of the FR-S will arrive when the model gets a mid-cycle upgrade in two or three years. Â Whether it will be sold alongside the 200-horsepower model or replace it is not known. Â
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