The Toyota iQ will be making it onto American shores in the form of a Scion. A concept version of the Scion-badged car was shown at the New York International Auto Show 2009 this week. But it was no regular iQ – it was slapped on a bodykit penned by a Californian company called Five Axis, giving it an aggressive wide-body look. But looks are all the aggression the 3+1 seater is going to get as under the hood is only a 93 horsepower 1.3 liter VVT-i engine driving the front wheels. But it does get TEIN Super Street coilovers and 18 inch wheels wrapped with Yokohama S.drive tyres.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 22 Nov 09 01:28:23 +0800.

Ken Gushi’s car for the Formula Drift championship in the US is an interesting one. The Scion tC is based on a transverse engine front wheel drive platform, but all-wheel drive derivatives are also available.

For drifting, rear wheel drive is necessary of course. The availability of all-wheel drive on the platform makes it relatively easier for a rear wheel drive adaptation. The transverse engine layout has been dumped for a 3S-GE Beams engine mounted longtitudinally. The 3S-GE is turbocharged with a HKS GT3037 turbine, and managed with a Blitz Dual SBC boost controller and an AEM engine management system.

More photos of the car after the jump.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 22 Nov 09 01:28:23 +0800.

Toyota is considering adding a small monocoque two-door pick-up truck (think Proton Arena) to the Scion car line-up, which should fit right in to the whole youth and lifestyle angle of the Scion marque. Rumours are that a likely name for this new vehicle would be the Scion xP, with the P naturally standing for Pick-Up.

Scion currently has three cars in it’s line-up – the xB and xD 5-door hatches and the tC 2-door coupe. The new Scion xP’s styling could be based on the previously exhibited Scion FUSE concept shown above, which is something like a 2-door pick-up, except the truck bed is a large boot integrated into the coupe-hatch-like design. Translated into a real world production version, a traditional pick-up bed might be used instead.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 22 Nov 09 01:28:23 +0800.

Toyota has always said that Scion cars are for the youth, and the youth generally like modifying their cars. So Scion’s designs have always been designed to be very modder friendly, like a piece of blank canvas that anyone can transform into a customised work of art. Scion wanted to demonstrate this “feature” of the Scion xD’s design concept with a sample customisation – and this is Scion’s customised Scion xD Concept.

Basically, more of an aesthetic modification – custom bodykit, huge 19 inch wheels, and a lowered ride height. No changes to the engine bay – a supercharger would have been very welcome. 128 horsepower from the new Dual VVT-i 1.8 liter isn’t a whole lot, as competitor Honda’s R18 SOHC makes 140 horses.

More photos after the jump.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 22 Nov 09 01:28:23 +0800.

Tbe Scion xD is the latest addition to Toyota’s Scion marque in the US, aimed at the younger crowd. The Scion xD replaces the Scion xA in the Scion line-up, and just like it’s namesake looks like a little happy smiley, it’s looks are sure to make you smile. The Scion xD is based on the same platform as the Toyota Yaris, but looks alot less like an oddly shaped bubble with wheels, taking on more boxy lines instead, which seems to suit the small car better.

Powering the Scion xD is the same new generation Dual VVT-i 1.8 liter that’s also in the Toyota Yaris TS for the UK market. The 128 horsepower engine is mated to either a 5-speed manual or a 4-speed auto. A single spec will be offered, with the only customisable options to be the gearbox as well as stability control.

More photos after the jump.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 22 Nov 09 01:28:23 +0800.