The rear-drive, two-door FR-S->ke3820 certainly has the right bones for making it big as an all-out race car.->ke148 With a low curb weight and a highly tunable four-cylinder under the hood, the potential for a podium finish is there. However, with something so new, development time is required to make the transition from untested to competitive. It’s only after grinding through tons of mistakes that a real track champion is born.

One team that certainly paid its dues was All American Racers, headed by racing legend Dan Gurney. Back in the 80s, AAR entered a trio of Toyota->ke88 Celicas->ke311 in the highly popular International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) GTU class to take on the dominant Mazda->ke53 RX-7->ke344. Although the team enjoyed limited success, hard work and relentless development yielded a competitive set of cars by the end of the season. When AAR and the Toyotas moved up to the GTO class, they started to win races.

As a throwback to the IMSA era of GT racing in the U.S., Speedhunters created this FR-S track special for the Scion Racing Tuner Challenge. The challenge is between three media outlets to create the ultimate FR-S in the 90-day lead-in to SEMA->ke216. With a budget of $15,000, each competitor is allowed free reign to build a car to wow the judges.

This year, Speedhunters managed to take home the win (along with a $10,000 check). The judges liked the retro theme and custom fabrication personally wrought by technical editor Keith Charnovia, as well as all the cleanly executed performance upgrades. Congratulations, Speedhunters!

Speedhunters

Exterior

This biggest draw here has to be the spot-on livery by Vinyl Loft. It looks good on its own, but the history behind it makes it that much more special. Also, the huge “86” calls forth memories of the predecessor to the FR-S, the Toyota Hachi-Roku AE86. Giving the Speedhunters FR-S a wider stance are KM4SH overfenders, which house custom, 17-inch, Rotiform BLQ wheels. Wheel width measurements come in at nine inches in the front and 11 inches in the rear. The front splitter is a custom piece, while the trunk comes from AeroJacket.

Charvonia Design provided a few add-ons, including fender vents and a rear diffuser, and also shaved off the door handles, mirrors and deleted the side-window glass. Elite Auto Creations is responsible for the R-M paint and bodywork, and a Takata tow strap is installed in case this thing actually hits the track (hopefully not literally).

Interior

As expected, the interior is completely gutted. However, the sparse trim that remains is adorned in leather and brushed aluminum, from JPM Coachworks and Charvonia Design respectively. Charvonia Design also shaved the seatbelt mounts and airbag text, as well as created the custom door panels and half dash. Keeping tabs on vitals are Stack Pro Control gauges for boost, oil pressure, and oil temperature.

A Cusco four-point roll cage secures the Takata four-point harness, which straps the pilot into place via a custom TRD Cobra RD Classic bucket seat. Maximizing driver interface, we find a Raceseng e-brake handle and shift knob, Grip Royal steering wheel, and vintage Indycar pedals.

Drivetrain

Much like the GT Channel car, Speedhunters used a supercharger to add boost to the 2.0-liter, boxer engine. This blower, however, originated from Cosworth, and comes with an Airaid intake, a Delicious Tuning ECU tune, JDL UEL header and exhaust, and CSF radiator. There are also Raceseng lightweight pulleys, numerous tucked lines from ChaseBays, and no air conditioning. If you’re too hot, just drive faster.

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There’s no point to looking like a race car if you can’t handle like one too, right? To this end, Speedhunters installed RS*R Black-i coilovers, SPC Performance rear lower control arms, SuperPro front and rear sway bars, SPC rear toe arms, a Charvonia Design rear seat cross-brace, and Raceseng CasCam (caster and camber) plates.

Like both it’s competitors, Speedhunters went to Wilwood for the brakes, with six-pistons up front, four-pistons in the rear, and 12.88-inch rotors all around. Adding to that race car feel is a ChaseBays brake booster delete. Finally, Nitto is once again on tire duty with the NT01 compound at 235/40 up front and 315/35 in the rear.

Suspension

At $15,000, plus the cost of a new FR-S, this racer might be a bit pricey, but if it means you can podium at the track and the car show, it’s probably worth it. Don’t forget all that custom fabrication.

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In an online poll between the three tuner cars, this eye-popping wide-body accumulated the most votes, but only managed to take home the silver at SEMA. Unlike its two competitors, Speedhunters went with individual throttle bodies to add power, while inside there’s a roll cage and upgraded infotainment. Giving it that crazy stance are wheels measuring in at 10.25 inches up front and an enormous 12.25 inches in the rear. Low and wide!

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Instead of crazy paint and body kits, GT Channel took a more subtle approach in their build. Teaming with Japanese tuner Mine’s, this FR-S has been polished with intelligent modifications designed to take the Scion to the next level of performance, while still maintaining some degree of civility for commuting duties. There’s a supercharger under the hood, plus nearly every suspension bit has been replaced with upgrades from KW and Whiteline GT Channel Mike Kojima was responsible for actually tuning all the adjustability. Inside, there’s no roll cage, which means this is the only entrant you could actually drive on the street.

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Speedhunters managed to beat both the craziness of Speedhunters and the nerdy attentiveness of GT Channel. Our guess is that the win can be attributed to Speedhunter’s cohesive vision for the car. The theme is obvious from the start, it’s showy but not flamboyant, refined but not subtle. It’s new and classic all at once. Kudos.