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BRZ=SUBARU PERFORMANCE
Introduced on Wednesday, Nov. 16: Subaru BRZ Concept STI
What is it? Break out the drool bucket. This is a mash-up of the rear-drive BRZ sports coupe concept and STI performance attributes. A sibling will be sold in the United States as the Scion FR-S, an arrangement that results from Toyota's part-ownership of Subaru's parent, Fuji Heavy Industries.
What they said: It's not far off from the production model. Conversations with company representatives after the official presentation clarified that Subaru's production model would be somewhat toned down, making room for Scion to do a more radical treatment.
What they didn't say: If hearing about this kind of car coming from Subaru makes any physical reaction last longer than four hours, consult a doctor.
What makes it tick? Though output specifications have yet to be publicized, at the heart of the BRZ will be a new 2-liter FA Boxer engine. Complementing the power will be a new, lightweight platform, an STI-tuned suspension, Brembo brakes and a carbon-fiber roof to lower curb weight and, Subaru says, the car's center of gravity. We'll take that driving dare.
How much, how soon? The production model, the first rear-wheel-drive model for Subaru, will make its debut at the Tokyo auto show, arriving in dealerships in the United States in the spring.
How's it look? Following hours of ho-hum reveals from other automakers, the BRZ was like oxygen in the room. Sure, at a glance, it resembles the Nissan 370Z ? and not, thank goodness, the Subaru SVX of '90s ? but given time to linger, eyes may register why this compelling Subaru may be destined for the catbird seat.
And from Motor Trend
If you were hoping that anything about the upcoming Subaru/Toyota sports car was going to be best-in-class, you might be a bit disappointed, but a recently released spec sheet shows that the car will land smack in the middle of the bargain sports car market?exactly where the automakers said they it wanted to be.
The car, first and foremost, will go by more names than an accomplished con-man: we've heard it will be called the Toyota GT 86, Toyota 86, Scion FR-S, and Subaru BRZ when it goes on sale. But names aside, it will stack up against some serious competition in the sub-$30,000 sports car market, from the likes of the Mazda MX-5, Volkswagen GTI, and Subaru's own WRX sedan. And for ease, we'll just refer to the car by its Subaru nomenclature: the BRZ.
The BRZ is an interesting addition to the market because of its compact size and normally aspirated four-cylinder engine. In that arena its main competition is the rear-wheel drive Mazda MX-5 Miata convertible and front-wheel drive coupes Scion tC and Kia Forte Koup SX. The BRZ slots in the middle of the three in size: it's about 10 inches longer than the Miata, eight inches shorter than the tC, and 10 inches shorter than the Forte. The same is true of weight?the BRZ is 250 pounds heavier than an MX-5, 150 lighter than the Forte, and nearly 400 lighter than the tC?and in power-to-weight ratios: it carries one more pound per horsepower than the Miata, one fewer than the Forte, and 3.5 fewer than the tC. Keep in mind, of course, that both the tC and the Forte start under $20,000, something the BRZ likely won't do.
Once you expand the BRZ's competition to the crop of sub-$30,000 compact cars, the competition muddies a bit: with a predicted price of somewhere in the mid-20s, the BRZ will slot against turbocharged competitors like the Volkswagen GTI, Mazdaspeed 3, Mini Cooper S Coupe, and Hyundai Genesis Coupe, as well as V-6 competitors like the Chevrolet Camaro and Ford Mustang.
It's here that the BRZ has its work cut out for it: competitors bring as much as 125 more horsepower to the table (a base Chevrolet Camaro has 323 hp underhood), but the car's diminutive size and low weight should prove to be an advantage. If you compare the BRZ to its equivalent from Hyundai, the Genesis Coupe, the Subaru's super light curb weight (it weighs 2690 pounds, 604 fewer than the Genesis) means it has a much better power to weight ratio (13.65 lbs/hp versus 15.69 for the Hyundai) than the Korean coupe.
Obviously, the proof is in the pudding, by which we mean that the battle of the $25,000 sports cars will be more than just a numbers game. We'll see that competition?no doubt a thrilling one?as soon as the BRZ makes its official American debut at January's Detroit show.
Source: Subaru
