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To reduce cost, Subaru BRZ and Toyota will share nearly identical versions. The common parts bin includes one circa-200-hp, port- and direct-injected flat-four engine; two Aisin six-speed transmissions, including a manual and a conventional automatic; one basic interior; and one set of body stampings and glass. Badges, wheels, and some small trim items will be different. Last year, Toyota decided to sell U.S.-bound cars as Scions, so technically ?there will be three iterations of ?the AS1, including those sold as Toyotas in foreign markets where Scion doesn’t exist.
Subaru’s BRZ 4-cylinder boxer engine was chosen because it’s more compact than a “vertical” engine and can be positioned lower to drop the vehicle’s center of gravity as an aid to handling. Not surprisingly, then, the BRZ/FR-S chassis takes advantage of this by being an adaptation of Subaru’s front/all-wheel-drive Impreza platform. That means a 4-wheel independent suspension comprising front struts, rear double A-arms, and likely an antiroll bar at each end. Brakes should be good-size 4-wheel discs with ABS, though maybe not as large as the FR-S Concept’s 18-inch rotors.
The price target was the toughest of them all, says Masuda. The base sticker is expected to land at about $28,000. At that price, the engineering team had to resist the allure of weight-saving materials and turbos. “The goal was to keep it basic and make it a real handling car,” says Masuda. “Horsepower was not our focus. If you want horsepower, we have the STI.”
