2018 BRZ tS - Comprehensive List of VIN and Production Numbers - U.S.
 

Subaru of America officially announced the release of the limited-edition 2018 BRZ tS for the U.S. market in June of 2017. As publicized, exactly 500 units of the STI-tuned BRZ were produced and distributed across 42 states through the Subaru Retailer Network. The BRZ tS entered production early December 2017 and ended early February 2018. Out of the 500 units, 226 were painted World Rally Blue, 104 Crystal Black Sillica, and 170 in Crystal White Pearl.

Introduction

When it comes to special- and limited-edition cars, numbering and designating a production number for each unit is a feature that adds to the intriguing element and uniqueness of the ownership of the car. The BRZ tS would have been no exception to this, but due to reasons unknown Subaru decided not to number each unit from the factory.

However, like the Series.Blue, Series.HyperBlue, and Series.Yellow BRZ, collecting a list of the VINs and designating a production number is possible by researching each VIN through a Subaru retailer. Because the VIN schematic of the BRZ is simple and because the production numbers are low, finding each VIN of a particular Special-Edition model is as simple as solving the equation 1+1. The end goal was to compile the most accurate, comprehensive list of VINs and designate each unit a production number.

Method for Compiling the List

Since MY2013 the BRZ VIN schematic has followed a simple and consistent structure. The BRZ tS uses the same schematic as the rest of the MY2018 BRZ carline. The compilation begins by searching the very first VIN which ends in 0001. The info for that VIN is recorded on a spreadsheet, then it’s just simple counting and recording from there...0002, 0003, 0004, etc. Fortunately, the BRZ tS’s were the first of 2018 BRZ’s produced and thus the first VINs were found immediately.

The amount of information shown with each VIN inquiry can be controlled by the individual researching the VIN. For the purpose of the BRZ tS VIN list, only Subaru Retailer allocation information was retrieved. With that said, the VIN list will contain the following information:

• Last 4 characters of its VIN
• Color
• City & State of the original Subaru Retailer the unit was distributed to.
• Production date of each car

Note that the city and state will always be based on the first Subaru dealership that the respective BRZ tS was distributed to, and will not take into account dealer trades or where the car currently is.

Ensuring Accuracy

Although finding each VIN is simple, extra care was necessary to accurately record each VIN and its information. Since the VINs of the BRZ tS are not a sequential 0001 to 0500 as one would think, and because of the repetitive and fatiguing process, it would be easy to accidentally label another BRZ trim level as a tS (and vice versa), or accidentally record the wrong color.

The most effective way to achieve an accurate record of the BRZ tS VINs would be to record every MY2018 BRZ VIN until BRZ tS VINs no longer show up. The rule of thumb that has always worked since the 2015 Series.Blue and so forth is to check 100 extra VINs after the last VIN has been found. If none show up within 100 subsequent VINs, the list and thus production of the Special-Edition model is complete.

To ensure accuracy of the 500-count BRZ tS list, the first 1000 VINs of the BRZ carline were recorded (the subsequent 100 VINs after the last BRZ tS was not recorded). The following information was recorded to maintain accuracy:

• 3-character color code (e.g. BLU)
• 6-character model code (e.g. JZS-03)
• City & State of the original Subaru Retailer the unit was distributed to.
• Production date of each car.

After the 1000 VINs were recorded, each VIN was ran a second time to verify that the above information was recorded correctly. Following the review of the 1000 VINs, the following information has been confirmed to be as accurate as possible:

• 16 VINs are pre-retail units
• 9 of the pre-retail units are BRZ tS’s.
• 243 VINs are either unused or non-U.S. cars
• 241 VINs are NON-BRZ tS’s
• 500 VINs are BRZ tS’s

Since each BRZ tS VIN was screened twice, all information regarding each VIN should be correct and only a network or software-related issue would yield an error.

Designating Production Numbers

With a list of the first 1000 VINs ready, it was now time to isolate the BRZ tS VINs in a separate list and assign each VIN a production number. Only BRZ tS’s that were retailed are counted toward the 500 units. However, there are 9 units with the BRZ tS Model Code (JZS-03) that were not retailed and instead owned by Subaru of America. The units are identified below and are designated with “PR” to represent “PRE-RETAIL”:

• PR1 of 9. 0003 - 08-29-17 WHC JZS-03
• PR2 of 9. 0004 - 08-29-17 WHC JZS-03
• PR3 of 9. 0007 - 08-29-17 WHC JZS-03
• PR4 of 9. 0009 - 08-29-17 WHC JZS-03
• PR5 of 9. 0012 - 08-30-17 BLU JZS-03
• PR6 of 9. 0013 - 08-30-17 WHC JZS-03
• PR7 of 9. 0019 - 08-30-17 WHC JZS-03
• PR8 of 9. 0021 - 08-30-17 WHC JZS-03
• PR9 of 9. 0022 - 08-30-17 WHC JZS-03

The fate of these units are unknown, but based on past Special Edition BRZ’s some or all of these units may eventually be sold as Pre-Owned or Certified Pre-Owned cars and do carry a manufacturer’s standard warranty and a typical maintenance contract.

For the 500 retailed BRZ tS’s, the production number sequence follows the numerical order of the VINs. Each unit can be identified by the last 4-digits of its VIN. Each unit is assigned a production number ranging from 001-500, beginning at 001 / 500 with VIN0023 and ending at 500 / 500 with VIN0984.

In addition to the last 4 digits of the VIN and its corresponding production number, the color, city/state of the first Subaru Retailer receiving the car, and production date of the unit will be indicated

2018 BRZ tS - Comprehensive List of VIN and Production Numbers - U.S.
 

Finalized List VIN and Production Numbers

Presented below is the final list of the VINs and the production numbers of the 500 BRZ tS’s in the United States. Identify the LAST 4 DIGITS of your VIN and find it in the second row. The number to the left of it is the production number. (In case images do not load, a link to a text version is enclosed as well.)

2018 BRZ tS - Comprehensive List of VIN and Production Numbers - U.S.
 

Breakdown of BRZ tS by Color & State

The BRZ tS was available in World Rally Blue (BLU), Crystal Black Sillica (CBS), and Crystal White Pearl (WHC). 226 units were painted BLU, 104 units were painted CBS, and 170 units were painted WHC. The BRZ tS was only distributed throughout 42 states, with some states getting only a single unit while other not getting any. The chart below displays the breakdown of the BRZ tS production by Color and State:


Breakdown of BRZ tS by Production Date

Production of the 2018 BRZ actually began with the production of the BRZ tS. The first unit has a production date of 12-04-17 and the last unit has a production date of 02-10-18. The chart below shows each day at least 1 BRZ tS and how many were produced the same day.


Retail Dates

Retail dates are currently a work in a progress but a fun fact is that the first two BRZ tS units that were sold occurred at the same day and at the same dealership. The following list belows shows the first 10 sold BRZ tS’s.

0326 - 12-21-17 CBS JZS-03 Walnut Creek, CA 02-17-18
0409 - 12-26-17 WHC JZS-03 Walnut Creek, CA 02-17-18
0280 - 12-19-17 CBS JZS-03 Long Beach, CA 02-20-18
0510 - 01-10-18 WHC JZS-03 Honolulu, HI 02-20-18
0218 - 12-16-17 WHC JZS-03 Sarasota, FL 02-21-18
0085 - 12-08-17 BLU JZS-03 Shoreline, WA 02-22-18
0121 - 12-11-17 BLU JZS-03 Birmingham, AL 02-22-18
0249 - 12-16-17 BLU JZS-03 Raleigh, NC 02-22-18
0209 - 12-15-17 CBS JZS-03 Vernon, CT 02-23-18
0041 - 12-06-17 BLU JZS-03 Annapolis, MD 02-24-18

(For the record, VIN0409 drove off the lot first because the STI Lip Kit was installed before VIN0326.)

Future Changes to the List

In reference to any software or network-related issue causing errors, modifications to the list will be minor and will not change production numbers since they were verified twice. Information such as Color is the only notable change that can be made if any errors are found (again--this information was screened twice so it shouldn’t be an issue).

If for any reason a BRZ tS is found to be missing from this list, the said unit shall be added to the end of the list as #501, regardless of the VIN’s numerical ordering, and so forth. Once again, this information was screened twice to avoid this, so this event is extremely unlikely.

Text Resources of Original and Finalized VIN Lists

Below you find links to text versions of the VIN list of the first 1000 2018 BRZ’s and the VIN List and Production numbers of the 500 BRZ tS’s.

First 1,000 VINs of 2018 BRZ (Link)
BRZ tS VINs and Production Numbers (Link)

Final Note

As a passionate BRZ enthusiast and owner, I hope that all BRZ tS owners will find value in seeing what number their car is and gauging the rarity of their car across different states! The planning and execution of compiling this list was not endorsed by any private company and was strictly a passionate and voluntary effort.

reserved final

My last 4 digits of tS is 0416 and I bought this in Houston. What is the production date?

@Veloist this is amazing work! Thank you so much for all your time and effort in putting this together for the community!

Now just to find someone to make an awesome plaque and if I want to be 70/500 or 24/104!!

There's a company that made my friends Type RA plaque to cover the pre-drilled holes in the bumper, I'm going to see if they can make something similar for the tS.

And huge thanks to @Veloist, this was more information than I was expecting!

280/500! Thanks @Veloist!

Awesome work! You really knocked this out of the park!

14/500. Not sure how I feel about being the last car made on the second day if production.

Wow, thank you @Veloist ! This is incredible work, and I’m blown away by detail you’ve put into this. The date of retail is a really nice touch. It’s so cool to know that we were each one of the first buyers after all! This is your best list to date.

@Veloist I cannot tell you how happy this had made me. This is my first "limited production" model car and this group has been the most welcoming group I've ever been part of. Thank you for putting the time and effort into not only the tS registry, but for all the Series.

We should find a company willing to produce a small plaque or something for each of us and get a group buy going.

I did not think I would be Sub 100! 086/500

244/500 0416 12/26/17 bought in July.

That would be awesome! I guess the obvious place would be where the seat warmer switches are? What are you thinking??