The new BRZ will be here … but not as a Subaru

IF you like the look of Subaru’s second-generation BRZ coupe … then buying it brand-new as a Toyota is your only choice.

In the wake of an unveiling in the United States that curtails conjecture about the engine the co-developed cars will share – it’s NOT a turbo – Subaru New Zealand has said it has no place for the new BRZ in its product planning.

Maybe you’re thinking that’s because the current edition only enjoyed a short life here in New Zealand; being bullied out after a year on sale by hard-arse Toyota New Zealand marketing techniques to promote its own doppelganger, presently known as the GT86, destined to be called GR86?

Not really.

Subaru NZ boss Wallis Dumper says the crux of the matter is that a rear-drive coupe doesn’t fit in with a national focus on being an all-wheel-drive specialist.

“It’s not all-wheel-drive so we won’t be letting it impact on our production allocation,” Dumper explained.

So, the next new Subaru here will be the 2021 Outback, already on sale in America, that will arrive with an engine BRZ/86 fans might have well imagined was coming to the sporty coupe: A turbocharged 2.4-petrol.

Assuming the Outback’s engine could even install in the new BRZ, and would be tuned as it will be for the SUV, then the BRZ would have delivered with 193kW power and 375Nm torque rather than the 170kW and 249Nm it apparently will get from its naturally-aspirated 2.4.

As is, the new engine is generating 11 percent more power and 15 percent more torque than the current generation car’s 2.0-litre. It also continues to run through six-speed transmissions, the auto now having a Sport function, and sending out the oomph through the rear wheels, with the vehicle stability control system offering five settings now to alter the degree of skid-tastic fun.

Macpherson strut front suspension and double-wishbone rear suspension also carries over and even though the chassis is thought to be an improved version of the current cars, the two generations are only identical in width. The next-generation is 25mm longer, 13mm lower and 6mm longer in wheelbase.

The car is stiffer and has become more responsive through a 60 percent increase in front axle rigidity and an overall rigidity boost of 50 percent. The centre of gravity is lower than before and a “near perfect weight distribution” is claimed. The BRZ weighs 1315kg in manual form, aided by an aluminium roof, bumpers and bonnet.

The look of the new model suggests Toyota has taken leadership with the styling; the overall look clearly builds on the current design story but is more in tune with current Toyota themes, including some of the boldness shown on the new GR Yaris.

And, yes, that’s the family the 86 is to enter. The Gazoo Racing performance clan created by Toyota is the right home for a car that will join that Yaris and, of course, the Supra. So, it’s going to be GR86.

Gazoo’s influence seems to show on the BRZ featuring in brand-supplied photographs, with one website figuring the 18-inch rims are identical in design to those fitted to the GR Yaris.