Few vehicles represent a love for driving better than a small, rear-wheel-drive, two-door coupe.->ke141 There’s no space for cargo or excess passengers and no compromise in the layout; it’s all about maximizing the interface between the driver and the road, quickening your pulse, and plastering a big banana grin all over your face. There are precious few cars that meet all these criteria, but the Scion->ke79 FR-S is undoubtedly one of them.

Launched in 2012, the FR-S, and its corporate twin the Subaru->ke86 BRZ, quickly became the darlings of automotive journalists everywhere. The car is extremely tossable, with a suspension setup that almost encourages sideways hooning, while the naturally aspirated boxer four-cylinder provides adequate power for canyon carving.

To help celebrate the supreme awesomeness of this lead-foot daydream, Scion->ke79 has dared GT Channel, Click past the jump to read more about the Scion FR-S By GT Channel., and Speedhunters to deliver their idea of the ultimate FR-S. Dubbed the Scion Racing Tuner Challenge, each publication was given a new FR-S, a $15,000 budget, and 90 days to complete their creation before the annual SEMA Show->ke216 in Las Vegas.

With only a few days left until the big event, you can be sure that crunch time is officially on.

GT Channel partnered with MotoIQ and legendary Japanese tuning house Mine’s to produce this FR-S under the guiding principle of “smart, sophisticated and stupid fast.” As a tuner car, the team wanted to build something that was functional and not simply a show queen. It’s a build designed to trounce competitors on the track, but still maintain some degree of civility on the street.

Click past the jump to read more about the Scion FR-S By GT Channel.

Exterior

Eschewing the wide body route taken by their competitors, this particular FR-S employs understated enhancements to the already lovely lines of the stock body. Aero is smoothed with an Esprit front spoiler, Avest rear wing and side mirrors, and TRD side skirts and side fenders. TRD HID headlights and TOMS taillights take care of illumination duties, and weight savings comes from a Seibon carbon hood, trunk cover, and rear diffuser. The wheels are Volk Racing ZE40 matte-blue gunmetal pieces. Wrapping it up is a tasteful Route 20 vinyl application.

Interior

The cabin is also lightly touched up, with Takata race harnesses mated to Recaro seats, a TRD steering wheel and shift knob, and a Pioneer->ke3850 touchscreen receiver with a four-channel amp and G-Series speakers. Even though we’re sure that Subaru engine sounds good, you gotta have the tunes!

Drivetrain

Clearly, this was the main area of focus for the build. Many complained that power was suboptimal in the FR-S, given the car’s stellar handling. The GT Channel team addressed this with some forced induction in the form of an HKS->ke3152 GT Supercharger kit. Complimenting the blower are pieces from a mishmash of performance companies, including Unorthodox Racing crank pulleys, a Granador exhaust, and a 5Zigen straight pipe. A CSF radiator dispenses heat, while HPS Performance silicone hoses add a bit of flair the engine bay.

Suspension

Finding the right balance between track-worthiness and street-comfort can be extremely tenuous. These are diametrically opposed philosophies when it comes to a build, but the GT Channel car tries to ride that border with a variety of products from Whiteline, including a strut tower brace, adjustable rear lower control arms, complete lower front arm assembly, front roll center/bump-steer correction kit, camber-adjusting bolt, and a multitude of polyurethane bushings to replace just about every stock bushing found on the car. Meticulously tuned KW Suspension Clubsport coilovers can be found at the corners, while the connection between the subframe and body shell is enhanced via Spoon Sports rigid collars. Finally, Wilwood brakes cooled by APR brake ducts handle deceleration, and Bridgestone->ke2341 Potenza R11S tires form the contact patch.

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If you want your own version of the GT Channel FR-S, be prepared to shell out $15,000 on top of the cost of a brand new Scion. Note that this figure doesn’t include the painstaking tuning attention needed to actually make that laundry list of parts work properly, so individual results may vary.

Prices

As a project, we think this FR-S is awesome. The intelligent modifications wrought by the GT Channel team should vastly upgrade performance over the stock vehicle, while creating something that’s unique both on the outside and in the interior. Additionally, this is a concept that you could actually drive on the street without too much issue, an accomplishment almost unheard of around the halls of SEMA. What do you think? Does the GT Channel FR-S have what it takes to beat the likes of GT Channel and GT Channel? Let us know in the comments, and vote for your favorite here.