Toyota FT-86 (pictured) & Subaru BRZ to debut at Tokyo
The joint venture by Toyota and Subaru to produce a sport coupe will culminate at the Tokyo Motor Show next month with the Toyota FT-86 and Subaru BRZ debuting.
The road from concept to reality has been a long one for the Toyota FT-86 and Subaru BRZ. But the wait is almost over for the Toyota/Subaru joint development, with production-ready versions of the FT-86 and BRZ planned for the Tokyo Motor Show next month.
The aim was to produce a sporty, fun coupe for under £20k, and although that still seems to be the general consensus we wouldn’t be surprised to see the FT-86 come in at around £25k and the more powerful BRZ getting close to £30k when they actually arrive in 2012.
But what’s on offer in the Toyota FT-86 and the Subarua BRX? And what differentiates them?
The FT-86 will be the cheaper option, but will still come with the Subaru flat-four engine and a quite useful 200bhp to play with. It will also be light – it weighs in at just 1100kg – which should make for some better than half-decent performance.
RWD is the order of the day for the FT-86 – and the Subaru too, surprisingly – with a suspension set-up tuned to Europe’s roads and damping which Toyota say is streets ahead of any comparably priced car.
A six-speed manual ‘box is the default setting for both the Toyota and Subaru, but a flappy-paddle auto ‘box is also on offer. Both cars will come with a limited slip diff as standard.
The more expensive BRZ gets the same engine as the Toyota, but in the Subaru it gets wrung-out to produce around 295bhp. which should make the equally light BRZ something of a supercar killer.
Apart from the extra horses – and some badging and styling tweaks – the Subaru BRZ will be identical to its cousin from Toyota (and there will also be a Scion version for North America), but it will cost around £5k more, justified – quite reasonably – by the extra power on offer.
But with both the FT-86 and the BRZ using the same basic engine, we can see a big opportunity for aftermarket chippers to bring the FT-86 up to BRZ levels of power for a lot less than the £5k price differential.
cynic says
“The more expensive BRZ gets the same engine as the Toyota”. If it is turbocharged then it is not the same engine is it?
CarsUK says
Yes, you’re right. We should have perhaps made it clearer. But the engine IS the same in the BRZ as the FT-86, albeit with the addition of a turbo.
Same engine, different trousers.
Eamon says
Is there a press release indicating it will have a turbo engine?
CarsUK says
No, but there is the confirmation that the BRZ will get ‘less than 300bhp’, which would be a silly statement to make if in fact it was only to get the 200bhp the FT-86 gets. And a turbo would be the easiest way to achieve this, especially for Subaru.
We’re unlikely to get any press releases from Subaru on specifics until closer to Tokyo at the end of the month.
cynic says
No where in the article does it mention turbocharging.
cynic says
“The more expensive BRZ gets the same engine as the Toyota, but in the Subaru it gets wrung-out to produce around 295bhp.” Could you please tell me where you got this information from? Do you actually read what you print? You are suggesting that a £30k car is going to produce something like 145 hp/litre with a 7500 redline?
CarsUK says
Oh, yes. We read what we write and we try very hard to have solid sources for everything we publish. But why do you think that sort of output from the BRZ is so extreme at the price?
The 2.5 litre Boxer lump in the WRX STI delivers 300bhp from its 2.5 litres for £33k, and the basic Evo X manages 290bhp from 2 litres (the FQ-360 has 354bhp). The basic FQ-300 also costs £30k.
Which is pretty much what we expect from the Subaru BRZ when it gets the turbo version of the same Boxer lump the FT-86 will get.
Tom says
Pure speculation. You do not have sources that have confirmed turbo.
CarsUK says
We know Subaru is launching a new 2.0 litre Turbo with around 300bhp in 2012. If the BRZ doesn’t get it at launch, it will get it next year.
Tom says
Your article implies at launch, that the cars performance WILL be different.
Again, pure speculation and hype, as Subaru MAY put a turbo in at some point, but when the two cars launch, you have no idea whether there will be any differences.
It would have been more honest to state in the article what you just replied to me, rather than state as fact that the BRZ will be more powerful at launch.
BTW – no way Toyota would let that happen at launch, as it would hurt initial FT-86 sales. Cosmetic differences only – to start.
CarsUK says
We believe it will. Subaru are on record as stating that the BRZ will ‘come with less than 300bhp’. If they were really going to offer the 200bhp Toyota is expected to give the FT-86 they’re heading for a big fall on the expectations front.
But we’ll all find out in a month’s time – if not before. And if it turns out the BRZ gets the same 200bhp as the FT-86 you can tell we’re a bunch of idiots – and we’ll agree!
Tom says
Frankly I hope you are right. 200hp seems awful low, and I would be more than willing to spend more for 280-290hp.
CarsUK says
At least we agree on something!