Subaru BRZ Might Not See a Second Generation
The opportunity for Toyota to lay with better bedfellows might mean and early death for Subaru’s BRZ sports car.
Currently, Toyota is working with BMW to develop a sports car that will sit above the Scion FR-S, but that might not be the only performance vehicle to come of the relationship. Tetsuya Tada, the chief engineer behind the FR-S and sports car co-developed with BMW, said the company might also work with BMW in developing the next generation of its lightweight affordable sports car according to Australian Drive.com.au.
Subaru spokesman Dominic Infante declined to comment on the story, which suggests that without financial support from Toyota, Subaru is unlikely to invest in developing a model beyond the current generation. To date, the BRZ is selling in lower volume than its nearly identical and slightly less expensive FR-S cousin. In 2013, Subaru sold 8,587 copies of the BRZ in the U.S. compared to the 18,327 FR-S coupes that found homes in the same time period. Despite that, BRZ sales are still outpacing what Subaru expected to sell in this market.
SEE ALSO: 2013 Subaru BRZ Review
Meanwhile, Drive reports that Toyota is looking for ways to offer its customers a quicker version of the FR-S in time for its planned mid-cycle refresh in the 2015 model year. The change could be something as simple as a more aggressive final drive ratio or exhaust upgrades. A more potent version of the 2.0-liter Boxer four-cylinder is also under consideration.
Tada also said that future versions of the FR-S will likely borrow from the company’s Le Mans hybrid technology by using some form of supercapacitors to offer more power without making the car significantly less fuel efficient.
GALLERY: Subaru BRZ Series.Blue
[Source: Drive.com.au]
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Luke is an energetic automotive journalist who spends his time covering industry news and crawling the internet for the latest breaking story. When he isn't in the office, Luke can be found obsessively browsing used car listings, drinking scotch at his favorite bar and dreaming of what to drive next, though the list grows a lot faster than his bank account. He's always on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> looking for a good car conversation. Find Luke on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> and <A title="Luke on Google+" href="http://plus.google.com/112531385961538774338?rel=author">Google+</A>.
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and don't you ever notice that BMW SHOULD make a boxer version of the TwinPower engine for the WRX STI so it will benchmark the M5.
Toyota is WORKING with?? . What're THEY doing? Putting their name on the car... the FRS and BRZ are ALL Subaru/NO Toyota. Subarus are overpriced GARBAGE... I had an 85 RX Turbo AWD and a 2006 WRX, both fun to drive, but WAY too expensive to fix or get parts for. Toyota made capable sports coupes that were reliable... 71-85 RWD Celicas, 85-95 Toyota MR2s, 1979-1998 Toyota Supras, and the 1985-87 Corolla GTSs. C'mon Toyota stop making those getriatric Camrys, Priuses and minivans... and GET OFF YOUR ARSES, we want a REAL AE86... NOT that girly, ugly, wannabe Scion garbage that DREAMS of being an AE86. I puke everytime I hear some fanboy or dork compare their LAME Scion FRS to the fun of my 85 Corolla GTS, I used to own. That Scion is a Subie NOT a Yota.