Photos of the Scion FR-S test drive: http://coverage.carshowz.com/v/auto_events/2012/carshowz_frs_test_drive/

The FR-S is the kind of car you’ve dreamt about having since before you could drive. It’s that sporty, quick, head-turner that you and your buddies talked about, and drooled over endlessly. Thirteen years after US production of the Supra ended, Toyota, as a joint venture with Subaru, finally has a new sports car.

On Saturday May 5th I had one of 360 slots dedicated for the Scion FR-S First Drive at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. Three different colored FR-Ss were available. Whiteout, Hot Lava, and Raven. An entire M&T Bank Stadium Parking lot was closed off with a track setup to put the cars to the test.

The exterior design of the car shares similarities to the Toyota 2000GT. According to our representative there’s a coefficient drag of 0.27, and a low center of gravity is comparable to the Porsche Cayman, the Nissan GT-R, and is almost identical to the Lexus LFA.

The interior seats are comfortable and form fitting. The lack of leather, while for cost savings, also prevents the driver from sliding in their seats. The steering wheel is advertised as Toyota’s smallest ever. While this may sound strange to advertise, it ultimately allows for better steering response time. I personally loved it.

Only the Automatic Transmission FR-S was on hand at the event, so I am unable to speak on the shifter or clutch of the Manual model. Though, this test drive was set as an Auto-X course, so I never would have made it past 2nd gear. The automatic was fairly responsive, but there were times when I’d hit the gas and have to wait slightly longer to downshift than I would have hoped for. I also never had a chance to test out the paddle shifters, but they are located in perfect reach of your fingers when your hands are on the steering wheel.

These FR-Ss were equipped with very grippy Yokohamas. There’s no doubt I could have spun out had I tried hard enough, but never once was I worried I was going to lose control.

I can say this car will never fit four, or even three people comfortably, yet for insurance purposes, there are rear seats. The back of the front seats touch the front of the rear seats. The purpose, they say, is to allow room for four full size tires when the rear seats are folded down. Perfect for carting around your track/autocross tires.

The FR-S sounds amazing inside and out. The engineers took the time to intentionally design a system to filter the sound of the car back into the cabin. From starting the ignition to hitting the gas, the FR-S Exhaust system sounds heavenly.

I will admit I am usually a bit biased towards Scion and Toyota having owned a tC, an xB, and countless other Toyota badged cars, but Toyota or not, and priced at $25k for the manual, and $26k for the automatic, this IS a car I want.

By 6:30pm the lot was nearly full. Great turnout as always, the weather was perfect.

Check out pictures here: http://coverage.carshowz.com/v/auto_events/2012/marley_station_glen_burnie/

There was an assume variety of rides at the show, a Lambo, GTR, amoung other assume rides.

We would specifically like to shout-out to our friends at Absolute Pro-formance, who took 1st and 2nd in the All Motor class.

Coverage of the event can be found here: http://coverage.carshowz.com/v/auto_events/2012/import_faceoff/

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We are very appreciative of the opportunity and enjoyed our time talking to the crew setting up for the show. The overall experience for us at carshowz.com was great. All of the staff were very friendly and accomodating. OK, so to the cars…

This years show is limited to only the 100 level at the Baltimore Convention Center. Previous years, “Tuner Alley” was staged on the 200 level where you would find some pretty awesome custom rides. Last years Tuner Alley was sponsored by Verizon and this year the Convention Center tripled their fees, pretty much elminating Tuner Alley. However, Rim Source Motorsports was on-site, as they have been in the previous years, sporting their big rimmed rides. I’m not sure that will satisfy the custom car crowd. OK, so no big deal, there’s still a great bunch of cars to see. Well you be the judge. Check out our 2012 Motor Trend Baltimore Auto Show Photo Gallery by clicking here.

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