Photo: chopping_pixels/Instagram
Right now, the 86 is the Toyota sports car everybody is thinking about. However, the MR2 was arguably more ambitious and significant, so we wonder what the Subaru BRZ would have looked like if it had been co-developed as a 21st century "midship rear" sports car instead.
The 2022 BRZ is undoubtedly exciting, but it traces its roots to the "Toyobaru" project that started almost a decade ago. This newer model has a better design and a larger 2.4-liter engine with more power, but a mid-engined layout would obviously have been more exciting.
Having the engine behind the driver isn't strictly limited to supercars. One of the most common automobiles of all time, the VW Beetle, was rear-engined. Porsche sports cars also evolved from that and have the horizontally-opposed cylinders somewhat in common with the Subaru boxer. So wouldn't it be cool to have a mid-engined BRZ which is co-developed with a Toyota MR2?
Of course, there are major hurdles in the way of developing such a car. Much of the engineering and testing for the BRZ and 86 was done by Subaru, and they don't have any experience building such machines. A few years ago, there was a rumor about a halo PHEV with a turbocharged 2.4-liter mounted at its rear. But the project appears to have been stopped.
So, we have to turn to the digital world for a mid-engined BRZ and we find one in the form of this rendering by Chopping Pixels. The proportions are obviously different, with the cab being pushed out and the nose becoming shorter. We think it resembles the Toyota MR2, but not the unloved last-gen with a roadster design.
Considering this type of car would cost a lot more than $30,000 because of the unique chassis, it would be a shame not to use an STI turbo engine. So the big question is: how much would you pay for something like that, a discount Porsche 718 Cayman with about 350 ponies?
Having the engine behind the driver isn't strictly limited to supercars. One of the most common automobiles of all time, the VW Beetle, was rear-engined. Porsche sports cars also evolved from that and have the horizontally-opposed cylinders somewhat in common with the Subaru boxer. So wouldn't it be cool to have a mid-engined BRZ which is co-developed with a Toyota MR2?
Of course, there are major hurdles in the way of developing such a car. Much of the engineering and testing for the BRZ and 86 was done by Subaru, and they don't have any experience building such machines. A few years ago, there was a rumor about a halo PHEV with a turbocharged 2.4-liter mounted at its rear. But the project appears to have been stopped.
So, we have to turn to the digital world for a mid-engined BRZ and we find one in the form of this rendering by Chopping Pixels. The proportions are obviously different, with the cab being pushed out and the nose becoming shorter. We think it resembles the Toyota MR2, but not the unloved last-gen with a roadster design.
Considering this type of car would cost a lot more than $30,000 because of the unique chassis, it would be a shame not to use an STI turbo engine. So the big question is: how much would you pay for something like that, a discount Porsche 718 Cayman with about 350 ponies?
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