Can't you just see yourself flying sideways down some glorious back road with the wind in your hair in your convertible Scion FR-S, aka the FT-86 Open? There's just one problem: Subaru won't build it. But here in the U.S., Scion may do it themselves.
See, Subaru is the one who builds the BRZ and its Toyota/Scion-badged versions. And according to a report in Wards Auto, they aren't interested in building a convertible version, no matter how sweet the FT-86 Open Concept looked. The reason for this, Subaru says, is too much re-engineering for safety.
This means Toyota may have to go it alone somehow, which is something they're looking at, Scion vice president Doug Murtha told the publication:
"It's something we're looking at internally from both a manufacturing standpoint – where do we build something that's relatively low-volume, if not at Subaru – and from an engineering standpoint: Where are those resources going to come from to do it?" Murtha says.
Frankly, I hope they find a way to do it. I have two reasons for this: first, convertibles are badass, and second, with no droptop or powertrain updates in the pipeline, it's hard to see sales for the FR-S and BRZ staying consistent and strong as they've been.
We may be getting to the point where everyone who wanted one has one, and I'd prefer the car stay relevant so it inspires new, affordable rear-drive sports cars from other manufacturers.
Also, convertibles are badass. I said that already, right? Well they are.