Sixty-four horsepower. That’s the number attached to the latest rumor about the Toyota S-FR, the cheap rear-drive coupe Toyota teased in 2015 and then quietly shelved.
According to Japanese outlet Response, Toyota is weighing a revival of the nameplate as a kei-class sports car. A production model could reportedly arrive as early as 2027, though neither Toyota nor Daihatsu has confirmed anything.
The original S-FR made its intentions plain at the 2015 Tokyo Motor Show. It had four seats, a front-midship engine, rear-wheel drive, a six-speed manual, and a round-eyed face that nodded to the old Sports 800.
It measured 157.1 inches long and 66.7 inches wide on a 97.6-inch wheelbase. Enthusiasts begged for it, but Toyota built the GR86 instead and left the little one to die in the concept hall.
The car being discussed now is a different animal. It’s smaller in every dimension and built to a rulebook Japan wrote for city runabouts.
Those numbers lead straight to Daihatsu. Its K-Open concept, shown at the 2025 Japan Mobility Show, measures 133.7 inches long, 58.1 inches wide and 48.4 inches tall on an 89.2-inch wheelbase, and those are reportedly the exact dimensions under consideration for the new S-FR.
The K-Open weighs just 1,874 pounds. The rumored hardware follows the kei template: a turbocharged 660cc three-cylinder making 64 horsepower, rear-wheel drive only, and a choice of five-speed manual or CVT.
On paper, that’s modest. On a tight mountain road in a car weighing less than a ton, modest is exactly the point.
Daihatsu has done more than sketch. It built a running prototype to see whether a rear-drive sports car could even fit inside kei limits, then followed it with the K-Open Running Prototype 2 at the Tokyo Auto Salon in January.
That second car shifted the engine rearward into a front-midship position for better weight distribution, the same layout the 2015 S-FR promised. Even so, Daihatsu hasn’t approved a production model, and the old front-drive Copen is already gone.
The case for a shared program is obvious. Daihatsu could sell an open roadster, Toyota a fixed-roof coupe, and one engineering budget would cover both.
Matching dimensions aren’t a signed contract, though. Toyota has said nothing about weight, engine placement or suspension for its version.
Seating is another open question. The 2015 concept carried four, the K-Open carries two, and cramming rear seats into a car this short would produce seats in name only.
Then there’s the crowd the S-FR would have to push through. Gazoo Racing is now a standalone brand, and its rumored lineup includes the GR86, GR Yaris, GR Corolla, GR Celica, GR Supra, GR MR2 and the V8-powered GR GT supercar.
Add the S-FR and that’s eight cars under one badge. No sane product planner funds all of them, and when the cheapest idea on the list competes with a V8 supercar for boardroom attention, history tells you which one usually wins.
There’s one more door open. Scion is coming back, and Toyota already plans to bring a tiny kei truck to America under that name.
A 660cc rear-drive coupe with a Scion badge wouldn’t be the strangest thing Toyota has done lately. For now, though, it’s just a set of dimensions, a Daihatsu prototype, and a report out of Japan.
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