- Olga Kokorina
- Translated by Olga Apetenok
- Ru He Fr
The 1st generation Subaru BRZ Coupe, 2016 restyling
The Subaru BRZ is a compact rear-wheel drive S-Class sports car in a two-door coupe body, developed and produced by Subaru in cooperation with Toyota. It was officially introduced in December 2011. In 2021, Israeli buyers could purchase the first generation car after the 2016 restyling, and the 2021 second generation coupe was expected to be released.
It all started with Toyota’s FT-HS concept (2007), which was finalized by Subaru engineers. The work began in 2008 when Toyota acquired 16.5% of Fuji Heavy Industries, which included the Subaru automotive brand. The concept cars and their modifications continued to be developed until 2011, when the production car finally appeared and production started at the Subaru plant.
Exterior
The coupe is beautiful, aggressive and elegant. The BRZ has acquired a long hood and short overhangs, the set-back passenger compartment, which is due to the layout, as the engine and gearbox are moved back and down for an almost ideal distribution of the car’s weight along the axes: 53:47. Such elements as wide wheel arches, squinty headlights, a sloping roofline and flowing lines make the car look dynamic and aggressive.
The BRZ is very sporty and therefore impractical: the short stern features emblematic rear seats and a tiny 243-liter trunk compartment. But there are two exhaust pipes and a small curved wing. Head optics and taillights overlap between each other and are distinguished by an unusual shape. The frameless doors are another sporty element.
The trunk is not very roomy, but it is possible to fold the back of the second-row seats to form a flat floor. Another sporty feature is a spare set of tires. Plus, the car has a low aerodynamic drag coefficient of 0.27, and a low center of gravity (460 mm).
Currently, the Israeli market offers six color variations of this coupe: rally blue (remember the legendary Impreza at the world championships), white crystal, silver, bright red, graphite gray and black crystal.
Interior
The 2016/2017 Subaru BRZ coupe is equipped with two tight-fitting contour seats for the driver and the ‘co-driver’ and with a very small backseat that perhaps is suitable only for children. But in such cars, the front seats are more important. Here they are very low, which allows you to better feel the car and immediately sets you up for a sporty mood. The small, embossed steering wheel is lined with perforated leather and stitched with red thread, and it is in vertical position.
A high front panel is in front of the driver’s eyes. It is finished with pleasant to touch elastic plastic. In general, the interior is simple and humble. Another sporty feature is a large tachometer in front, while the speedometer is on the left.
There are two finishing options for the BRZ. The first one: black interior and fabric seats with red stitching and silver dash trim, black instrument dials; the second option offers leather seats and Alcantara interior. And the latter is sold in Israel. Interior materials are inexpensive, everything is simple, as nothing should distract the driver from driving.
Power trains and equipment
The car is equipped with the Subaru FA20 naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine built together by the two companies. The horizontally opposed engine unit was created by Subaru, while the cylinder head and D-4S direct injection systems was designed by Toyota. This engine produces 200 hp (149 kW) at 7,000 rpm and a torque of 205 Nm at 6,000 rpm. Note that the engine and gearbox are positioned as far and low as possible in the engine compartment to distribute the weight of 53% to the front axle and 47% to the rear one, and this is close to ideal weight distribution.
The new Subaru BRZ has acquired a six-speed Subaru manual transmission, while the automatic transmission is from Toyota. Israeli buyers can purchase the manual transmission version. With it, the car accelerates to 100 km/h in 7.6 seconds and develops a top speed of 226 km/h. The coupe is equipped with an independent suspension, with the MacPherson strut at the front and the double wishbone suspension at the rear. It was tuned by Subaru engineers, so it is tough, resilient and energy-intensive. The car maintain close contact with the road without rolls, and any slipping motions are well controlled.
The car is equipped with electric power steering and electronic assistants, including the anti-lock braking system (ABS), emergency braking system (BAS), traction control system (TRC), and the VSC System (can be disabled). This will allow the experienced driver to enjoy an excellent steering response of a small, light and powerful car.
