We were not lucky enough this year to be in Japan for the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show and more specifically catch the debuts of the much-anticipated Toyota 86 RWD sports coupe or its technological other half the Subaru BR-Z, a dream that alas was too far out of reach. But we were in Los Angeles, Calif. the night of Wednesday, November 30, to witness the reveal of a vehicle just as exciting, and just as expected - the production North American version of the platform, the Scion FR-S.

Toyota's youth-skewing brand went all out to separate its announcement from the others. Housing the affair in Milk Studios, a giant photo hall near Hollywood, the crowd in attendance featured a who's who of Toyota execs, tuner media, famous drivers, and specially-invited Scion owners. It was emceed by Voice of Formula DRIFT J-Rod DeAnda and the guest list included Scion Racing's pro drifter Ken Gushi, fellow slider Taka Aono, drag racer/customizer Jeremy Lookofsky, seminal tuner icon RJ DeVera, and many, many others.

In a breathtaking display, the ramp on which the FR-S descended for its revealing was surrounded by examples of Toyota's sports car lineage. The exhibit consisted of the brand's first sports cars, the Japan-only Sports 800 from the mid-1960s and limited-edition 2000GT from later in the ‘60s, and other examples from over the years: Supra, MR-2, and the Lexus LFA. There were also a couple of AE86 Corolla GT-S in the house, the primary inspiration for the FR-S, and fittingly the classic machinery was even held aloft by Toyota forklifts.

Midway through the program Scion VP and General Manager Jack Hollis took the mic and made the big announcement, saying that the car would be available in the spring, has a lower center of gravity than a Ferrari 458, and could possibly be lighter than a Honda S2000 (which was roughly 2,864 pounds for most of its life). Then the house lights went down, the music cranked up, and a red 2013 FR-S sauntered down the catwalk to an awaiting crowd of journos and fans.

FR-S expands Scion's menu to five, and as we expected has nearly identical specs to the Toyota 86 and Subaru BR-Z introduced 27 hours earlier in Japan. The front mid-ship rear-wheel drive platform co-developed by the automakers will floss a naturally-aspirated, 200 horsepower, 151 lb-ft of torque 2.0-liter, four-cylinder Boxer engine with D4-S port and direct injection and dual-overhead cams. The horizontally-opposed motor is square (86mm bore by 86mm stroke) and its high 12.5:1 compression ratio is for the direct injection, suggesting FR-S should be a pretty efficient, as well as sporty, machine.

Power is sent through either a six-speed manual gearbox or six-speed automatic with paddle shifters and hits the ground via standard 17-inch rims shod in 215/45 rubber. Also at each corner are ventilated disc brakes, and suspension is a mix of forward MacPherson struts and aft double wishbones.

That insanely low center of gravity - it's accomplished with a mix of elements; for starters, the Boxer mill is low (a benefit of the flat design) and further back on the chassis. Additionally, FR-S has a 53:47 front-to-rear weight distribution, and with other touches like the standard aluminum hood, we have to believe this thing will turn on a dime.

In a second room, Scion imagined what the tuner world might do with the FR-S by giving one to GReddy. Next to a panda AE86 (that is, black and white), the GReddy-spec car rocked a custom GReddy exhaust, GReddy coil-over suspension, and 19-inch Rays G12 rollers on Hankook tires.

It was an amazing night, forecasting a remarkable future for the Scion FR-S that Hollis said would bring the "sport" back to the "car." We have no reason to disagree and eagerly await the future to see what people do and where they go with the hottest sport compact car to come down the pike in a long while.

www.scion.com