250hp from a 2.7 litre 4 cylinder?? seriously? Only if it's tuned but even then, torque figures will only go up slight so what's the gain in that? top speed? That's all I can think of.

 

i will be very interested to see the new tC. IQ looks pretty cool itself. not bad for a daily.

 

the tC already is a pig. torque is no problem, even with the current 2az-fe, since toyota, the sole engineers of it, wanted to focus on the amount of pull and acceleration people will get when they're on the road every day (1-3.5k rpm). If you do a civic Si vs tC drag race, i'm confident the tC will win, but only during the first few seconds, because while the Si will accelerate exponentially as the rpms go up, the tC will fall way behind because of its lack of high end power.
the tC shouldn't get a bigger engine, rather, downsize it from the current 2.4 to maybe a 2.0 or 2.2 and have yamaha take a jab at the engine to make it a bit more sporty, not daily. i'm tired of my car getting called "tC = toyota camry" just because of the 2az....
they also need to get rid of that horrid fist-sized wheel gap that comes stock

 

My inspiration for the busa powered iQ comes from watching those busa powered smart car videos. That being said I wouldn't waste my money on either..

 

A bigger pig I meant, like most cars today. And fYI, the car that crosses the finish line first is the one that wins, not the guy who is in front for the first few seconds.

 

Based on the assumption that it can't make close to 90hp/L because it can't rev because it would be an undersquare engine?

 

You guys are missing the point of the tC (and tC replacment, remember REPLACMENT not next gen.) The tC is a sport compact meant to be a peppy, economical and smart buy for the youth segment. It is NOT a race car. I own one, I have no problem driving it hard but I know it's not going to win many races. I use it as my daily driver. Even the SI, Mazdaspeed 3, GTI, whatever else is in the same segment, is meant to be fun and somewhat affordable.

 

Also 2.7 liters is big for a 4 banger and it only produces 200hp? I'm not sold and need to see more.

 

i know, that's exactly what i'm saying. while we have more torque than s2ks, it's no competition about which one will come out first. and s2ks aren't even built for straight lines.

 

Find me another 4 cylinder with 200hp is that NOT turbocharged or highly strung (> 6,000rpm redline)

 

Hoda makes 200 hp from its 2.0 liter motor in te civic. Or is it 2.2 l?? I am not sure, but Honda creates equal power form a significantly smaller motor.

Honda is run by engineers

 

Lotus chose the 1.8 I-4 from Toyota over the Honda unit for its Elise/Exige. Honda makes solid engines but Toyota does too.

 

It can also make 240hp from a 2.0 litre (or 2.2. litre) in the S2000 but that's highly strung too.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's not all about hp. Fine, you get your 200hp but what good is it if the engine just makes 140lb-ft of torque?

e.g. Celica 1.8... 140hp vs. 180hp for the Yahama tuned version. But torque on the 2ZZ was only up by.. what 10lb-ft? and available at a higher peak rpm (6,800?) instead of the standard 1ZZ which had peak torque near 4,400rpm.

 

This statement no longer applies.

No, I totally get the point and understand it's purpose. It probably is my fault for having the thread head down this road though......

However, I believe that the tC should be able to compete with the SI, golf, performance wise. It shouldn't have to have a 2.7L engine to do it. Still, I guess if it can be as economic as a 2.0 from the competition, then it would be fun and adequate (with a chassis to match of course...the celica gt/gts was a great fwd chasssis) and an interestng base for lots of boost.

The tC shouldn't be a boulevard cruiser. It should be a hook for young people to get into the Toyota brand. Having a platform that the aftermarket loves helps this cause a lot.

 

2011 Scion tC

We have always thought that the Scion tC was a pretty tidy looking little hatchback, but as it's been on sale since 2004, well, it's gotten a bit tired, even though there are very few inexpensive front-drive sport-ish coupes to choose from these days. With that in mind, we've been looking forward to the introduction of the long-awaited 2011 model, expecting a fairly radical step forward. Judging by this new spy shot from an anonymous tipster, perhaps we ought to temper our expectations a bit.

While the single snapshot in question is blurry and blown out, it does show what appears to be a new lower fascia, grille, wheels, and side mirrors. The headlamps are too washed out under the showstand's high-power lights to tell if they've been altered (it appears that the photo was taken during a presentation rehearsal ahead tomorrow's New York Auto Show reveal), but it's reasonable to assume that the tC will receive new lights both front and rear, as they're a hallmark of almost any vehicle refresh.

As for what lies underneath the reskin, we're not yet sure, as the only thing to have slipped out about the new model that appears credible are a few official-looking detail shots that reveal items like a new manual shift mode for the automatic transmission and revamped HVAC controls.

We'll have more on the 2011 tC after Scion's press conference tomorrow, but in the meantime, you can play a game of "spot the differences" from the outgoing car by checking out our high-res gallery of Scion's latest special edition model below.

*UPDATE: Our man with the spy cam has offered up the following details about the 2011 tC:

* 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine (2010 model has a 2.4-liter)
* Six-speed manual or automatic gearbox with sequential shifter
* 18-inch wheels standard (with wider tires)
* Traction and stability control (defeatable)
* Wider track for improved stance
* Flat-bottom steering wheel "one of the best feeling out there (comparable to the one used in the GTI), very thick"
* Improved seats with "good bolsters and shoulder height bolsters, too"
* Improved rear headroom (but panoramic moonroof stays)
* Overall, a "very nice feeling interior (for the price point and even above)"
* Eight-speaker stereo standard
* Single outlet exhaust ("would like nice with a dual back there")

We'll see if our inside man is right on the money tomorrow.