According to several sources, Toyota is considering adding some power to their new best car, the FR-S. The facts are as follows: Toyota is looking into adding more power to the Toyota/Subaru flat four engine. They've postulated such ideas as supercharging, turbocharging, increasing engine displacement, or even (save us all) a hybrid system.
So shall we dive in?
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| A Relatively Simple Setup - The Supercharger |
Let us contemplate the idea of supercharging the FR-S. I've long preferred supercharging to turbocharging as the power delivery is smoother, more immediate, and more responsive. It does use more fuel than a naturally aspirated engine (in general), but it's an easy way to add 50 or more horsepower. The only downside to the supercharger would be an increased base-price, probably an extra $5k or so. This would cover the supercharger, beefed-up suspension, spunkier transmission, and grippier tires needed for the power. This could be a viable option - or maybe a performance package offered by the dealer.
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| A Complicated Maze of Tubes - The Turbocharger |
The turbocharger would present similar advantages to the supercharger, but would be slightly better on fuel. However, turbochargers are notorious for lack of immediacy - and that really is the FR-S' party piece in the first place. Who would want a small, tossable car that isn't tossable? Then it would just be a small car with too much power and not enough grip. The reason the low grip of the FR-S works well is because the car is immediate and controllable. This, however, is not a viable option for standard upgrades. Installing a turbocharger involves lifting the engine, installing new vacuum ports, and routing piping all over the engine bay. I'd estimate the cost of this, including the extra suspension, tires, and transmission upgrades to be on the order of $7k from the dealer.
Increasing engine displacement seems like the most realistic option. This solution would involve nothing more than taking the 4-cylinder already in the car and adding a little extra volume in the cylinders. This possibility has a number of pluses. It would maintain the immediacy of the FR-S, which is its whole point, and it would add around 30-40 horsepower to a car that weighs about the same as a tennis racket. The only possible downside is that larger displacement means more rotating mass, which means more inertia. These things all mean a less responsive engine that revs slower and can't match the sky-high shrieking of the current engine.
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| When Blue Flames Shoot Out From a Hybrid, You Know Hybrids are Cool |
First off, I am the biggest supporter of internal combustion - what Top Gear would call a Petrol Head. However, I am also a big fan of hybrid technology - but not in the way you might be thinking. If I only think about the Toyota Prius or Honda Insight, I find myself feeling rather sick, frankly. They use a hybrid system to assist an internal-combustion engine around town. The only problem with this is that European cars like the VW Polo Bluemotion are already beating Prius MPG numbers by 20 MPG or more - and these diesel cars don't release heavy metals or battery acids into the atmosphere like the Prius. If anything, they're much cleaner than most of our American cars. BUT, and it's a big, juicy but, Hybrids like the Porsche 918, McLaren P1, or LaFerrari fill me with faith that humanity hasn't lost its sense of reason. The Porsche 918 actually releases less CO2 into the atmosphere than a Prius - and it will likely last 3 times longer. So if the Scion FR-S uses a Porsche-inspired system (although probably with a $150k price tag) - bring it on!
So we've got ourselves a verdict! Ease of installation, immediacy, smooth power delivery, and relatively low cost mean that Supercharging is what the FR-S should be getting!
