A student team from the Saitama University of Technology (Japan) has come to this year’s Tokyo Auto Salon with a one-off roadster project named S-FR. It references Toyota’s S-FR Concept dating back to 2015 in both name and appearance while riding on the Mazda MX-5 platform, CarBuzz reports.
Judging by the images, the students have replaced most of the bodywork with custom-fabricated panels. The wheel wells lost their fender flares, the radiator grille was replaced along with the front bumper, splitter and canards, and a new diffuser appeared at the rear end. The car also got a new rear bumper and trunk lid, Toyota-inspired headlights and taillights, and a swan-neck rear wing.
For greater semblance, the tuners even reproduced the exact body kit of the S-FR racecar and its paint job. The big difference is that Toyota never revealed a roadster version of its show car.
The original debuted in 2015 (see video) as a precursor to an affordable sports car that Toyota had planned to sell as a cheaper alternative to its GR 86 model. Despite the largely positive feedback, the company ultimately abandoned the project.