The car that we thought to be a close sibling of the Toyota 86 turn out to be, well, a twin instead of a cousin. The difference apart from different bumpers, is negligible. Even the squared-off rear lights from the LA motorshow concept also did not make it to the final production.
The front end of the Subaru BRZ is differentiated from Toyota 86 by the shape of the front bumper. Where the 86 bumper was characterized by large air intake with scorpion-inspired outlines, the BRZ front bumper is more boxier in appearance, consistent with current Subaru design language on the new Impreza et al. The triangulated fog lamp housing of the 86 is replaced with a squared-off housing. The fender garnish is different from the Toyota 86 with more visible black element with centre bar.
The rear end appeared similar too. The squared off tail lamp of the concept car has been replaced by the Toyota 86 exact item. Even the trunk lind/license plate garnish is carried over too. While this car is far from looking dowdy, but some Subaru-ism would be much welcome. More after the jump.
The engine is as per the 86, with 2.0l flat-4 D-4S engine with a high 12.5:1 compression ratio producing 197bhp@6000 rpm and 205Nm@6600rpm. Drive is channeled to the rear wheel via either short-throw 6 speed manual or 6 speed automatic transmission with paddle shift.
The cabin differs from the Toyota twin in its trim color. The trim has more in common with the European Toyota GT86 which ditched the red accents on Japanese cars. However, the black dashboard fascia on the GT86 is trimmed in silver in the BRZ. The meter binnacle graphic is also different.
The comparison in design with the Toyota 86/ GT86 can be found in the previous Hachiroku coverage at:
http://malaysia-motoring-news.blogspot.com/2011/11/toyota-86-revealed-ahead-of-tokyo.html#more
The sale of the Subaru BRZ will start in spring 2012. The gallery of the Subaru BRZ can be found below:
