Photo: Tokyo Subaru
It’s been eight years since the BRZ and 86 started rolling off the assembly line at the Ota plant in Gunma, Japan. But in the second half of 2020, Subaru will stop taking orders for the boxer-engined sports car.
This information comes courtesy of Tokyo Subaru, the company that manages the automaker’s dealerships in Tokyo and the surrounding area. The lineup in Japan still features the six-speed manual and six-speed automatic transmissions, as well as trim levels that range from the base R to the STI Sport. The big news, however, concers the BRZ Gen 2.
Best Car magazine suggests that the FA20 will be replaced by the FA24 from the Ascent mid-size crossover, a four-cylinder boxer as well. However, it won’t be turbocharged as it’s the case with the three-row utility vehicle. The Japanese publication expects 220 PS and 24.5 kg-m from the non-turbo powerplant, figures that translate to 217 horsepower and 177 pound-feet.
“That’s all? From 0.4 additional liters of displacement?” It appears so, and the figures do make sense if we compare them to those of the turbocharged FA24 in the Ascent. With forced induction, the 2.4-liter engine is good for 260 horsepower and 277 pound-feet pound-feet of torque.
But wait, there’s more! Best Car can’t make a case for the Toyota New Global Architecture – the TNGA – as the basis for the BRZ and 86. Instead, the “basic package is the same as the previous models.” As a brief refresher, the first-gen models are based on a modified vehicle architecture from the previous generation of the Impreza. According to a source close to the Japanese automaker, the Subaru Global Platform can’t be converted to rear-wheel-drive.
Best Car also claims the automatic transmission “is not a radical evolution in terms of specifications” without going into further detail. Not even the number of gears is specified, which leads us to believe that we’re dealing with an improved six-speeder or an eight-speed auto from Aisin. The Direct Shift-10AT that Toyota rolled out at the end of 2016 is an unlikely candidate.
On that note, the GT 86 will be renamed to GR 86 in July 2021 according to an internal presentation. As for the BRZ, Best Car expects the newcomer to arrive next spring.
Best Car magazine suggests that the FA20 will be replaced by the FA24 from the Ascent mid-size crossover, a four-cylinder boxer as well. However, it won’t be turbocharged as it’s the case with the three-row utility vehicle. The Japanese publication expects 220 PS and 24.5 kg-m from the non-turbo powerplant, figures that translate to 217 horsepower and 177 pound-feet.
“That’s all? From 0.4 additional liters of displacement?” It appears so, and the figures do make sense if we compare them to those of the turbocharged FA24 in the Ascent. With forced induction, the 2.4-liter engine is good for 260 horsepower and 277 pound-feet pound-feet of torque.
But wait, there’s more! Best Car can’t make a case for the Toyota New Global Architecture – the TNGA – as the basis for the BRZ and 86. Instead, the “basic package is the same as the previous models.” As a brief refresher, the first-gen models are based on a modified vehicle architecture from the previous generation of the Impreza. According to a source close to the Japanese automaker, the Subaru Global Platform can’t be converted to rear-wheel-drive.
Best Car also claims the automatic transmission “is not a radical evolution in terms of specifications” without going into further detail. Not even the number of gears is specified, which leads us to believe that we’re dealing with an improved six-speeder or an eight-speed auto from Aisin. The Direct Shift-10AT that Toyota rolled out at the end of 2016 is an unlikely candidate.
On that note, the GT 86 will be renamed to GR 86 in July 2021 according to an internal presentation. As for the BRZ, Best Car expects the newcomer to arrive next spring.
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