2017 Subaru BRZ

Subaru reveals limited-edition BRZ and WRX STI

Subaru has announced two limited-edition performance specials, the BRZ tS and and WRX STI Type RA – each of which will be limited to just 500 units.

The BRZ tS, while boasting no more voomah than the standard BRZ ‘Toybaru’ – 150kW at 7000 revs and 212Nm at 6400rpm – comes with stiffer springs, uprated Sachs dampers, Brembo brakes, flexible V-braces in the engine compartment and new draw stiffeners on the chassis and subframe to improve steering response.

It’s also the the first BRZ to be fitted as standard with 18 inch rims – in this case lightweight STI hoops shod with 215/40 R18 Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres for quicker turn-in.

External mods include a body kit comprising a special, manually adjustable carbon-fibre boot-lid spoiler, a deeper rear apron, side skirts and a front splitter. The side mirrors, roof mounted shark-fin antenna, and special BRZ tS badging are all finished in black, and the foglights have been deleted.

The cabin is trimmed in a mix of black leather and alcantara synthetic suede, with red leather front seatbelts, red leather bolsters on the front seats, ‘tS’ logos embroidered in red on the front seat-backs, and red contrast stitching on the seats, steering wheel, door and dash panels, knee pads, and gear and handbrake lever boots.

There’s a special binnacle over the instrument panel, a classic frameless rear-view mirror, and the centre console has been updated with a cast black finish.

Record attempt

The RA designation for the special WRX STI stands for “Record Attempt” and goes back to 1989, when a competition-spec Legacy set a world speed endurance record by clocking more than 99,200km in 18 days – that’s an average speed of more than 220km/h – including fuel stops and maintenance!

In this case, a modified WRX STI Type RA NBR Special will attempt a Nurburgring speed record in the third quarter of 2017.

The street version delivers increased performance through weight reduction, suspension and engine upgrades. It has a carbon fiber roof and pedestal wing, no spare wheel and lightweight 19 inch BBS forged alloy rims wearing 245/35 R19 Yokohama Advan Sports tyres.

Its 2.5-litre turbopetrol boxer four has been tweaked to 228kW with a new intake and exhaust plumbing, stronger pistons and a new ECU, along with a revised third gear and a short-throw gearlever. Inverted front struts and double wishbone rear suspension with Bilstein dampers all round and upgraded a stability control software keep it pointed in the right direction while Brembo callipers and drilled discs take care of stopping.

Red grille and rear bumper trim, and a special front splitter, get you noticed, as do Recaro sports seats with red bolsters and red stitching throughout the cabin.

The BRZ tS and WRX STI Type RA will be available in black silica, pearl white and Subaru’s signature pearl blue, from the first quarter of 2018; we’re waiting on a reply from Subaru SA as to whether any have been allocated to South Africa.

http://www.iol.co.za/motoring/latest-launches/subaru-reveals-limited-edition-brz-and-wrx-sti-9676838
 
The very first thing I look for, when I hear about these special edition BRZ/86s is whether they've managed to squeeze some form of forced induction into the package. Always left disappointed, unfortunately. The car can really do with a bit more oomph, even though it's mighty fun to drive already.
 
Subaru BRZ long-term test review - track day at Brands Hatch

Toyota’s GT86 stole headlines when it arrived, but its twin, the Subaru BRZ, spent less time in the limelight. We’ve got six months to redress the balance

The BRZ is fitted with eco-focused Michelin Primacy HP tyres which make it all the more entertaining on the road, because you can explore the car’s limits at relatively modest speeds. But on track, faced with grippier asphalt and far higher speeds, are these 215/45 R17 boots really up to the job?

A good place to test this is on the grand prix circuit at Brands Hatch. Undulations, changing surfaces, heavy braking zones and long corners mean there’s the potential for aggressive driving to melt the BRZ’s tyres off their rims. That’s a thought that’s unnerving when you’re fully committed into Paddock Hill Bend.

But even at track pace, the BRZ is so confidence-inspiring. I’ve taken Brands’ daunting first bend in other cars and spent the time it takes to ride the steeply angled rollercoaster terrified of an impending moment of snap oversteer. In the BRZ, though, you feel so connected to the car that you’re always one step ahead of what its sweetly balanced chassis is doing.

During cornering, the BRZ moves about beneath you, making the whole process very involving. You can work the wheel with minute inputs through every corner, balancing this with throttle adjustments and using everything from visual cues to the feeling through your backside to gauge what’s happening.

It sounds difficult, but such is the level of communication offered by the chassis that it comes very naturally after a couple of laps.

Few cars can feel so alive yet so predictable, and few can take so much abuse for so long. Even after 15 minutes of very hard driving, the brakes and tyres felt well within their limits. In fact, the tyres showed no physical signs of overheating after four 20-minute stints.

Of course, this car isn’t perfect on track – most modern hot hatches will power past it down the straights and other tyres would offer more grip – but for pure and consistent enjoyment on a circuit, it’s one of the best factory-spec road cars I’ve driven.

SUBARU BRZ 2.0I SE LUX MANUAL

Price £26,050 Price as tested £27,550 Economy 32.4mpg Faults None Expenses None Mileage 4997

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/our-cars/subaru-brz-long-term-test-review-track-day-brands-hatch

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@FiestaST what's the idea of having dual brands of this car?
 
Toyota has a 16.5% stake (steak) in Subaru & used their expertise to co-develop the GT86/BRZ.

While both cars are fundamentally the same there are still some differences between the 2.

The BRZ is tuned slightly more differently than the Scooby, front end is a bit sharper and keener to turn in. The steering is weightier than the GT86. This makes it even more of a driver's focused car than the GT86.

Then there are the subtle styling differences. Interior differences are very minor.

In SA the BRZ was offered at a notably price premium over the GT86 but did include a few toys. Overall it was not a big seller locally & that's why this f/lift was not brought to SA.

And lastly the brand name differences. People have their favorites between the two.

https://youtu.be/t_idnBAjEts
 
Subaru BRZ long-term test review - is it a true Scooby?

Toyota’s GT86 stole headlines when it arrived, but its twin, the Subaru BRZ, spent less time in the limelight. We’ve got six months to redress the balance

How ‘Subaru’ is the BRZ? Is it a ‘true’ Subaru?

These are questions I’ve been asked many times, often after someone accuses our car of being a “rebadged Toyota GT86”. So, to find out more about the true Subaru character, I jumped into a WRX STI – the yobbo of the Subaru range and a ‘proper Scooby’ – to see if I could identify any strands of DNA shared with the BRZ.

Like our BRZ, this WRX (pictured below) was finished in WR Blue Mica and featured a rear wing, but that’s where the similarities ended. The BRZ, with its slick coupé exterior, welcomes you into a low-slung seating position and feels like it’s tip-toeing down the road. By contrast, the WRX, with its muscular styling and upright chairs, feels harder and more antisocial as it chunters along.

In fact, it feels quite awkward to drive and its controls are significantly less fluid to operate. The WRX is much faster – a given, due to its highly boosted 2.5-litre four-cylinder boxer engine offering 296bhp – but it is more difficult to predict and, as such, offers an less communicative experience than the BRZ.

Really, these cars feel like products from entirely different brands, which might suggest that the answer to our earlier question is ‘no’ – meaning that the BRZ is basically just a GT86 spin-off, right? Well, erm, no. My proof comes from a week-long stint in a GT86 (pic below), which proved to me that the BRZ’s brother from another mother is indeed noticeably different.

There are minor differences in various areas, but the most obvious contrast comes in the way the cars ride. The BRZ is firmer, particularly at the rear, which makes the GT86 more comfortable in town but in turn gives the BRZ slightly sharper handling on a B-road. The differences are small but they’re significant, as they send both cars off in different directions of focus.

You can feel that Toyota has engineered its GT86 to be more forgiving in several areas, therefore making it a slightly better all-rounder, while Subaru has made its BRZ the more aggressive of the pair. That’s a very Subaru thing to do, surely, so that means the answer to the questions posed at the start are ‘very’ and ‘yes’. I think. Can I go now?

SUBARU BRZ 2.0I SE LUX

Price £26,050 Price as tested £27,550 Economy 29.1mpg Faults None Expenses None Mileage 5682

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/our-cars/subaru-brz-long-term-test-review-it-true-scooby

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Subaru BRZ long-term test review - The 1990s called...

Is there a better bargain driver’s car? We don’t think so but need to be sure…

An astrophysicist once said that interstellar wormholes were our best bet for time travel, but he’d obviously never stepped inside a Subaru BRZ. If he had, he would have noticed that the buttons, the switches and the clock look like they’ve been transported through the fabric of time from 1993 to 2017, therefore proving that the BRZ is indeed from a different era.

That’s the only explanation I can think of to account for the reason so many of the details in the cabin are so square and lacking in design appeal. The numbers in the digital displays, the fonts on the centre console and the heated-seat controls all look like they came from that microwave you threw in the dump 15 years ago.

I’ll admit there are some aspects of the cabin I like. The steering wheel is refreshingly simple and feels right for the BRZ both in overall diameter and rim thickness. The instrument screen next to the dials is inoffensive and features some useful menus, including an oil temperature display and a live power and torque readout. Plus, the car’s seats are actually very comfortable. But, overall, the cabin isn’t anywhere near as pretty as the car’s exterior and so remains its weakest link.

Perhaps it’s because Subaru’s development team was so busy ensuring the car was excellently balanced and fun to drive that the interior styling department ran out of time to complete the final details. By the time they realised that the cabin was sub-par, it was too late to do the job properly and they had to resort to a dusty old parts bin.

If the BRZ’s cabin design was improved, I’d argue that the car’s desirability would be substantially boosted. As proof, take the Mazda MX-5. The little Japanese two-seater has a cabin as eye-pleasing as its exterior, with a tidy layout and nicely matched details. Even the cabin’s air vents are a work of art. Enjoying the BRZ’s fine handling while toggling vents like those would make the experience feel as premium as it is fun – and I say this with confidence, having just spent a few days in a 2.0-litre MX-5.

But –and this is where I keep ending up – even when I was driving the MX-5, I still found myself missing the BRZ. I loved the Mazda’s more intuitive infotainment system, but that couldn’t counter my longing for the alertness of the BRZ’s chassis. The MX-5 is far from sluggish in its responses, but the BRZ somehow feels no heavier, despite actually being 156kg podgier, and is more eager to react to every degree of steering input. It really gives the impression of being on another level in terms of performance, even if the cars’ respective power and torque figures suggest that isn’t the case.

The BRZ just feels more special to steer. It’s helped by a lower seating position that makes the car seem more hunkered down, giving you more confidence to drive it properly. Your attention is focused on soaking up the experience of driving.

You could say that although they are quite different in form and character, the BRZ and MX-5 are actually closely aligned rivals. After all, the prices of this BRZ and the MX-5 I drove are near identical.

As such, I’d argue that we’re lucky to live in a time when these cars are available concurrently. Having said that, nothing can convince me to chop in the BRZ, microwave buttons and all.

SUBARU BRZ 2.0I SE LUX MANUAL

LOVE IT: The BRZ’s brakes are not over-assisted, unlike those of most modern cars, and the pedal offers a decent amount of feel.

LOATHE IT: The lightness of the BRZ’s body comes at a price: little sound insulation. Quite a lot of noise is generated on motorways.

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/our-cars/subaru-brz-long-term-test-review-1990s-called

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Subaru Viziv Performance concept previewed ahead of Tokyo motor show

Viziv Performance concept previews a sports saloon and demonstrates the brand's latest semi-autonomous tech

Subaru will show a new performance saloon concept at the Tokyo motor show, named Viziv Performance.

Using Subaru’s Viziv name - a shortening of ‘vision for innovation’ - the Viziv Performance concept demonstrates Subaru’s EyeSight driver assistance system and previews a potential production model down the line.

Preview images give away little at this time, but large extended wheel arches housing vents behind the front and rear wheels hint at a need for considerable brake cooling, suggesting that the Viziv Performance concept previews a serious performance saloon. At the front, the car adopts the same angular styling of the new Impreza and previous Viziv concepts.

It’s not the only debut on Subaru’s stand; the brand is also showing a limited-run version of the WRX STI, named S208. The car has engine revisions and exclusive bodywork, as well as a carbonfibre roof. Four hundred and fifty are being sold, with buyers drawn from a hat.

The BRZ STI Sport will also make an appearance on the Subaru stand; the 100-unit BRZ having received upgrades to the interior and exterior. Mechanically, it’s the same as the standard car, though.

A further two concepts will be unveiled; the XV Fun Adventure concept and Impreza Future Sport concept.

Both finished in metallic yellow paintwork, the XV Fun Adventure concept is a hardcore off-roading version of the standard XV, with rugged black cladding, knobbly tyres and a black roof rack, while the Impreza Future Sport concept adds sporting bodywork, a twin central exhaust and lowered suspension on the exterior, with contrasting interior trim.

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/...rformance-concept-previewed-ahead-tokyo-motor

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Subaru BRZ STI Sport launched for Japan as most driver-focused variant

Subaru has produced an even more driver-focused version of the BRZ for its domestic market called the STI Sport.

Offered exclusively in Japan and revealed at the Tokyo motor show, the car gets a stiffened-up chassis with V-braces and beefed-up rear suspension mount points.

Subaru said the changes make the car more responsive to steering inputs and reduce roll. Sachs dampers with bespoke settings and new 18in wheels have also been added.

The 1250kg car is offered in a unique grey khaki colour that’s limited to 100 units. It also gets a red and black colour scheme inside.

No changes have been made to the car's flat-four boxer engine, so the atmospheric unit puts out the same 197bhp and drives the back wheels through a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic gearbox.

There are currently no plans to bring the BRZ STI Sport to Europe. The car is on show in Tokyo alongside the WRX STI S208 Special Edition and Viziv concept.

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/...-sti-sport-launched-japan-most-driver-focused

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Subaru BRZ long-term test review: can you switch the ESP fully off?

Is there a better bargain driver’s car? We don’t think so but need to be sure…

Skids are fun, don’t you think? Over-rotate the rear and let the car slide along and – poof – a shot of adrenaline and an accompanying rush of endorphins are pumped into your brain and you feel exhilarated. Brilliant, isn’t it?

Well, yes, it is, unless you pile the back end of your drift-mobile into something hard, like a kerb. Then it’s not brilliant. I can tell you that from first-hand experience. A wiser driver might be inclined to leave some form of electronic assistance on when they fancy ‘getting the rear out’, to prevent such a scenario.

The Subaru BRZ can cater to this because, since the 2017 facelift, it comes with its ESP set at a raised threshold, made possible thanks to the fitment of firmer dampers and a variety of parts that increase chassis rigidity. This makes the car more predictable and therefore reduces the need for nanny ESP to step in and save the day – which is very good news because, ultimately, many enthusiasts buy sports cars to have fun in. Knowing you can do more of the driving with less intervention is a good thing.

I attempted to gauge the effectiveness of the ESP system earlier this year at Brands Hatch (see earlier report below). I toggled between its three new settings – On, Track (in place of Sport) and ESP Off – but the weather was too good to really notice the difference in the latter pair. That’s one of the reasons why I decided to take the BRZ to Thruxton Circuit’s skid pan. There, with the ESP fully on, the Subaru is remarkably easy to drive, even on a surface as ice-like as Thruxton’s facility. You can try to power, turn and brake aggressively, but the system overrides your commands, limits torque and applies the brakes to any wheel that slips to ensure that both axles are travelling in the same direction. It’s pretty much foolproof.

Want to get slippy-slidey? Then switch to Track. In this mode, the wheels spin up, the front pushes and the rear rotates. Powering through the slalom section of Thruxton’s skid pan is a nerve-wracking experience and the car snatches and drifts. The ESP intervenes at about 20deg of slip, which is enough to look cool but ensures you continue pointing in the right direction

ESP Off illustrates just how effective Track mode is, because it becomes nigh-on impossible to maintain control through the slalom. The BRZ is a well-balanced car, but its Michelin Primacy HPs are no match for the skid pan and I just make myself dizzy with spin after spin. Even in this driving mode, the ESP is still on just a teeny bit. It turns out you can’t fully turn it off, although the only evidence of its presence during my countless spins is a flashing orange light.

Am I disappointed there’s no mode to completely disable the ESP in the Subaru? Not in this case, because, unlike other ESP systems, the BRZ’s ESP Off is clearly not there to intervene, but rather to reduce the speed of impact if you’re about to stuff it. It’s not a crash-preventing ESP – it has too little effect to be that. It’s an injury-reducing ESP, and I’m okay with that.

LOVE IT: The keyless entry is very good. The door unlocks the second you wrap your fingers around the handle

LOATHE IT: The brakes growl loudly when the ESP kicks in. Thanks for saving my life, but can you do it more quietly?

SUBARU 2.0I SE LUX MANUAL

Price £26,050 Price as tested £27,550 Economy 33.0mpg Faults None Expenses None Mileage 9031

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/...ong-term-test-review-can-you-switch-esp-fully

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What Do You Want To Know About The 2018 Subaru BRZ tS?

Most car reviewers seemed pretty impressed with the 2018 Subaru BRZ tS when the car was released to test pilots on a closed race track, but I’m on my way to pluck one out of a garage so I can live with it for a week. What do you want to know?

The short story is that the BRZ tS is a limited-production special version of the BRZ. It does have rear-wheel drive and a manual transmission. It does have a huge wing and decorative appointments. But it (still) does not have much horsepower: Subaru claims 205 at the crank.

Are the chassis and suspension tweaks worth this car’s high asking price? Or is it, at least, interesting enough to warrant its limited production run of 500 cars? We’re going to try and find out over the next couple days. Meanwhile, let me know if you still have any burning questions about this car.

https://jalopnik.com/what-do-you-want-to-know-about-the-2018-subaru-brz-ts-1824997572

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Subaru BRZ facelifted in Japan with new suspension

The manufacturer's home nation will get the updated rear-wheel-drive sports car first, followed by the rest of the world

Subaru has unveiled its updated BRZ, which has been given a mild update after six years on sale.

The manufacturer has tweaked the suspension of its Mazda MX-5 rival, with retuning of the dampers aimed at making the car better to drive.

Fins at the rear of the car are claimed to improve aerodynamics and reduce wind noise by reducing turbulence.

Inside, the rear-drive BRZ remains the same, although the non-UK 'RA Racing' model has had a redesign of its seatbelts and rollcage.

The current BRZ was introduced in 2012, and achieved a five-star rating at the hands of our road testers. Subaru plans to sell 160 BRZs per month in Japan, but hasn’t specified how many it will sell in the UK. Given the delay between cars going on sale in Japan and in the UK, it's expected that we won't see the facelifted BRZ on UK roads until the second quarter of 2019.

Subaru recently suspended orders of the Levorg four-wheel-drive estate in the UK due to greater demand than supply, although the brand only sold 1739 cars between 1 January of this year and the end of July. All Subaru diesels in the UK have also been axed recently.

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/subaru-brz-facelifted-japan-new-suspension


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Toyota GT86 (and Subaru BRZ) facing axe, suggests report

A fresh report out of the United States suggests the Toyota GT86 and closely related Subaru BRZ (which both hit the scene back in 2012) will not see a second generation.

According to Japanese Nostalgic Car, which cites an upcoming report from a Japanese magazine, the two sportscars are facing the axe.

Why? Well, the publication says the two automakers have “deviated on their development policies”.

As Japanese Nostalgic Car points out, however, the base four-cylinder version of the new A90-generation Supra makes 145 kW, which is in fact two units fewerthan the GT86’s naturally aspirated flat-four engine, leading to speculation this derivative will serve as the brand’s entry-level sportscar.

Another scenario is that Toyota could again be partnering with Subaru after the latter reportedly started work on a new mid-engined vehicle. This, the report speculates, could form the basis of a revived MR2.

Meanwhile, Toyota boss Akio Toyoda hinted to Autocar a fresh sportscar could be on the way from the brand.

“SUVs are nice but, at the end of the day, is there anything better than a tight rear-wheel-drive sportscar? I hope this won’t be the last Toyota sportscar you see from us in the future,” Toyoda said, in reference to the new Supra.

The Toyota GT86 line-up in South Africa currently comprises just a single derivative, priced at R593 100. The BRZ, meanwhile, was pulled from the local market back in September 2015.

https://www.carmag.co.za/news/toyota-gt86-and-subaru-brz-facing-axe-suggests-report/
 
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