The Original Scion FR-S/Subaru BRZ Is the Millennial Generation’s Datsun 240Z

Astonishingly, it's been almost 15 years to the date that the Toyota FT-86 concept car debuted at the Tokyo Motor Show. It was a near production-ready sneak peek at what soon became the best affordable sports coupe of the early twenty-first century. Actually, two of the best, as the car was marketed as both the FR-S under Toyota sub-brand Scion, and as the Subaru BRZ.

The second-generation of the car remains in production as the Toyota GR86/Subaru BRZ, but in its current, purely ICE form, it's days are surely numbered. And, as with one of the car's spiritual ancestors, the Datsun Z-car, the first generation (2013-16) FR-S/BRZ will likely be remembered as the purest of the line. Now that the earliest ones are over a decade old and as the herd of unmodified, low-mileage cars begins to thin, it's time to start thinking of the first-generation of the Toyota 86 twins, not just as superbly balanced, late-model, affordable sports cars, but as collectibles.

A few generation ago, front-engine, rear-wheel drive imported sport coupes were fairly common. The Datsun 280Z and the mini-Mustang-like first-generation Toyota Celica were the Japanese expression of the theme, while Porsche sold the 924/944. The gradual shift to front-wheel-drive cars, and the drop in sports car sales overall made it cost prohibitive for most manufacturers to maintain or develop short-wheelbase, rear-wheel-drive platforms for an increasingly low-volume segment. With a few brief reprises, like the Nissan Silvia-based 240SX and the BMW Z3 coupe of the 1990s, the genre was essentially left for dead. Until it wasn't.

A manufacturer listening to what auto journalists ask them to build, building it, and then actually selling it in large numbers makes a solar eclipse look about as common as going-out-of-business sales at mattress stores. But the original Toyota 86 is certainly one of those cars. When the entry-level rear-drive sports coupe was basically extinct in this country, to the chagrin of car writers and enthusiasts alike, Toyota and Subaru worked together to answer the call. In its first road test of the Scion-flavored 86 in April of 2012, Motor Trend had this to say: "The FR-S is one of the most playful and enjoyable cars we've driven in quite a while. Throw the car into a tight 90-degree bend and after initial front-end push, the rear end will start coming around predictably and controllably. Countersteer and dial in a little throttle, and suddenly you're drift star Ken Gushi, sashaying down a stretch of switchbacks in perfect rhythm."

The baked-in predictability and controllability was in part, the result of the fairly low limits of the car-with just 200 hp, and 151 lb-ft of torque, it was hard to get into felonious levels of trouble. Add into the mix, skinny, low rolling resistance tires with limited grip, and you have a car in which you could explore the physics of car control in a fairly safe manner, on public roads. Getting from 0-60 took about six seconds. While not quick even by 2012 standards, that wasn't really the point of the 86. Fun was.

Stylistically, not much gets said about the 86. Perhaps the most distinctive feature of the car was its Toyota 2000 GT-inspired rear quarter window. The long-hood, short-rear-deck look are classic front-engine/RWD proportions, and while the interior is fairly generic Japanese econobox, the driving position is at least quite nice. This is all oddly familiar, because much of the same was written about the Datsun 240Z back in the early 1970s. Styling of that car, (which mimicked sources as diverse as the Jaguar E-type, Toyota 2000GT and Ferrari Daytona), was decried as derivative and the interior was criticized as being obviously designed to a price. Of course, none of that has stood in the way of early Z-cars becoming desirable collectibles.

Nor will it likely stand in the way of the 86 twins from being sought after one day. The Datsun brought affordable, reliable rear-drive thrills to the masses. Even in the '70s, when sports cars were much more common, the Z-car had a bigger cultural impact than almost all the rest. The FR-S/BRZ had a similarly big impact, bringing rear-drive fun to thousands of young car folks who needed something more affordable and/or practical than the two-seat convertibles and pricier European coupes, Corvettes, and muscle cars. And, just as many 240Zs rusted or wrecked, the supply of nice first-gen Toyota 86s will diminish as the drifter and tuner crowds have their way with them. Frankly, they were never that common to begin with-after the initial rush which saw over 2000 sales per month, Scion sales stabilized for a year or so in the 1200-1500 a month range, and began to slowly sink thereafter. BRZ sales were generally less than half that and evaporated faster than Scion transactions.

What's more, being a Toyota product means the RWD 86 has proven to be mostly robust, and capable of racking up significant miles. Really low-mileage cars are therefore few and far between already. It's these examples, with three-pedals, that seem to be the best bets for future appreciation as the millennials who were at prime car-buying age when these cars came out start to get nostalgic for them.