Sodegaura Raceway : Video Drive of the 2013 Scion FR-S

Among all new car presentations made in 2011, the models that received the most attention from auto enthusiasts all over the world this year were arguably the sports coupe triplets born from the partnership between Toyota and Subaru.

But that was to be expected as affordable and focused rear-wheel drive sports coupes have become an increasingly rare sight in our days.

At least in the U.S., we'll have wait until next spring to see how affordable the Subaru BRZ and its Scion FR-S twin will be, but in the meantime, both Japanese carmakers are giving the press some time behind the wheel to evaluate their creations.

In this latest video, we see Michael Ferrara from DSPORT magazine trying out the Scion variant, both with manual and automatic transmissions at the Sodegaura Raceway in Japan, while wWe also get a few quotes from the car's Chief Engineer, Tetsuya Tada.

You can check out the video after the break.

Hat tip to Frisco for the video find!

Subaru BRZ Concept Rumored to Debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show

If we are to believe to a new report from Car&Driver - and we have no reason not to, Subaru will finally lift the veil off a concept version of the BRZ sports coupe with actual sheetmetal at the upcoming 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show in mid-November.

And unlike the BRZ's sister model from Toyota, Subaru won't be showing another concept as both the BRZ and FT-86 (we're still not sure about the name), will be making their world premiere in final production trim at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show in December.

Citing inside sources, C&D says that Subaru and Toyota had an agreement not to show "a single production body panel" if any car until their debut at the Tokyo event, which explains why the Toyota FT-86 Concept I, II, and G Sports, as well as the more recent Scion FR-S, looked different.

But it’s not all good news as the magazine reports that the final production Toyota FT-86 (global model) and the Scion FR-S (only for North America) will be identical twins sans the badges and equipment levels, while difference with the Subaru BRZ (global model) will be limited to the front fascia.

The development of the rear-wheel drive sports car's powertrain and chassis was handled by Subaru, which will also build the cars at its Gunma facility in Japan, starting from next spring. Toyota, on the other hand, took over the styling aspect.

A Subaru-sourced 2.0-liter boxer four featuring Toyota’s port-and-direct-injection system, believed to produce around 200-ponies, will power all three cars.

Finally, power will be transferred exclusively to the rear wheels (there won't be an AWD version for the Subaru) through a choice of six-speed manual or automatic transmissions.

Story sources: Car&Driver via Worldcarfans