Subaru BRZ STI Concept Car: Unveiled in Los Angeles
Last September, at the Frankfurt Motor Show, Subaru presented the bodyshell of its upcoming sports coupe that, for the time being, is named the BRZ Prologue.
Today , the Japanese manufacturer will unveil the BRZ STI concept car, forerunner of the future line, at the Los Angeles International Auto Show.
This compact sports coupe was developed jointly by Toyota and Subaru designers and engineers.
Up to now, Toyota has unveiled the FT-86 and FT-86 II concept cars, while its Scion division has presented the FR-S. All three of these concept cars resemble Subaru’s BRZ STI.
For the time being, the specialist in affordable four-wheel drive has nevertheless given itself the task of developing a sports coupe with rear-wheel drive.
Size:
Length: 4,200 mm
Wheelbase: 2,570 mm
Width: 1,770 mm
Height: 1,270 mm
Subaru BRZ STI Concept
For the directors of Subaru’s marketing department, “BRZ” stands for Boxer Rear-wheel drive and Zenith, while “STI” means Subaru Technica International.
It goes without saying that the concept car unveiled to us online also inherited its silhouette from the two concept cars presented by Toyota and Scion, except that Subaru’s has front and rear sections that are its very own.
The Subaru BRZ STI concept car’s styling gives it a very prominent nose, strongly tapered headlights and rectangular sidemarker lights. Added to this are a rear wing (which isn’t particularly attractive) and the outstanding sport wheels and four-tailpipe exhaust system.
New Boxer Engine
Under the hood of the upcoming Subaru sports coupe should normally be an all-new four-cylinder 2.0 litre turbo Boxer engine offering approximately 200 hp. The direct injection fuel system is from Toyota.
This is the same engine, or almost, as the one currently used by the new 2012 Subaru Impreza family.
The Subaru Approach
So far, the 2+2 concept coupes presented by Subaru and Toyota benefit from a technological approach developed by Subaru engineers. It encompasses two distinct yet complementary entities:
“Subaru Boxer Sports Car Architecture”
Although Subaru’s engineers agreed to go from four- to rear-wheel drive, they never compromised on the principle of a flat-cylinder, horizontally opposed engine, commonly known as a “Boxer.”
“Subaru Rear-Wheel Drive Sports Car Technology Concept”
As its name clearly states, Subaru’s engineers had to design and develop an entirely new structure for these rear-wheel drive sports coupes, sold under the Scion, Subaru and Toyota brands.
In all likelihood, the Subaru sports coupe will go into production in spring 2012.