What It Is: The rear-wheel-drive Scion FR-S will be offered in softtop convertible form, we've learned, confirming recent rumors. (The images you see here are renderings.) Unlike the Fast and Furious–ized FR-S roadster that an aftermarket tuner recently showed in California, the production FR-S convertible should retain its rear seats.

Why It Matters: The FR-S—as well as the Toyota GT 86 that’s sold elsewhere and the nearly identical Subaru BRZ—is a reasonably priced, relatively light, rear-wheel-drive sports car. In other words, the vehicle enthusiasts have been begging automakers to actually build. A convertible version will add volume, which means more income for Toyota and happy accountants. Happy accountants are more likely to approve projects for fun cars in the future.

Platform: The convertible will, of course, be built on the same platform as the joint Toyota/Subaru coupe. This architecture also stands a good chance of being used for other Toyota models. It's versatile enough to be enlarged, and could be the basis of a small four-door sedan or larger two-door coupe. Product planners are hard at work on the possibilities, a source tells us, although we're not sure if any of the spinoffs have been approved for production.

We don't yet know whether Subaru has any plans for this platform beyond the BRZ, but it seems less likely. Subaru already has a lineup of sporty four- and five-door vehicles, with a new WRX and STI expected soon.

Powertrain: The same 200-hp, 2.0-liter boxer-four from the FR-S and BRZ coupes will be used for the convertible. Manual and automatic transmissions, both of the six-speed variety, will be offered. Roof or not, we’ve learned that no Scion FR-S will get a turbocharger.

A bigger coupe or other eventual models based on the FR-S’s architecture likely would get larger engines to deliver the power and refinement customers in those segments expect.

Competition: The most direct competitor will be the Mazda MX-5 Miata, a car to which the FR-S and BRZ coupes are already compared. But many sun-seekers care about style rather than driving dynamics, and some want a back seat that the Miata doesn’t provide. For them, there are two convertibles that hit below the $30K mark: the six-cylinder Ford Mustang and the Volkswagen Beetle.

A bigger rear-wheel-drive Toyota coupe would probably target the Hyundai Genesis coupe, the Mustang, the Chevy Camaro, and perhaps even the BMW 1-series. A Toyota-badged sedan could compete with the Volkswagen Jetta GLI and Subaru WRX. It’s also possible Lexus would get a version, which could sit below the IS and face the upcoming Audi A3 sedan, the future Mercedes-Benz CLA-class, and the underwhelming Acura ILX.

Estimated Arrival Time and Price: Toyota and Subaru need to satisfy demand for their rear-wheel-drive coupes, launch ad campaigns, and get the production facilities up to full speed first and foremost. The earliest we could see a convertible debut is a year from now, but a debut in late 2013 or early 2014 is more likely. Any products spun off the platform are at least two years out.

The convertible version of the Scion FR-S will top the coupe’s $24,930 base price by a few grand. Toyota has been cautious about pricing the FR-S so far, offering no factory options besides an automatic transmission, and the company is worried that a $30,000 price tag on a Scion would be a nonstarter with dealers. We agree, and think the droptop FR-S will come in below that psychological barrier.

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