If you bought two WRX turbo models from the dealer today, and drove them back to back with surgical, robotic precision, you'd probably find that one was .2 tenths of a second faster than the other. That can be blamed on production tolerances, one being built on a Friday, the phase of the moon, the guy driving getting a slightly better launch, or whatever else you want to blame it on. That's just what it is.
The FRS and the BRZ are the same car with a different nose, and slightly different suspension tuning. So neither is going to be faster than the other in a straight line, other than the possibility that one launches better than the other due to the suspension tuning. A rolling start of 5-60 would most likely be identical besides the weight of the driver.
I can say from experience that, on any given day, the BRZ can beat the FRS around the track, or the FRS can beat the BRZ around the track, or they have a dead tie. Depending on drivers, the BRZ could beat the FRS around the track by an easy 6 seconds. I know this because my first experience with Tsukuba Circuit, I beat an experienced motor journalist around the track with a 1.18 time vs. his 1.24 time *in the same mx5*.
If anybody here really is going to buy the FRS because they think it's "faster" than the BRZ, then they'll end up disappointed. If they buy it because they like Toyota dealers better, or they like the nose better, or they like the price better, or the options available better, they won't be disappointed at all.
Regards,
Paul Hansen
www.avoturboworld.com
www.facebook.com/BRZSportsCarClub