Quote:
Originally Posted by wbradley
. . . From a visual/styling/design perspective Toyota was obviously the dominant influence. So people . . . are looking at and appreciating almost 100% Toyota design details when they admire their BRZ's . . .
|
I agree with much of your explanation about what the two companies contributed to the FT86 cars, but I've got a different opinion about who came up with most of the styling cues. (Full disclosure: I've spent a good deal of time observing my 2014 BRZ in my garage next to the 2016 Legacy that moved in last month. Also have owned 2 other Legacys going back to 2000.)
Of course the BRZ body shape is unlike anything Subaru has done before. It very much resembles the 2000 GT Toyota put out years ago, but you could also judge that it resembles the Datsun "Z" cars of the 1970s or even the classic Porsche 911 going back to the sixties. So let us grant Toyota, who have much more experience with sportscars, authorship of the basic shape.
But the smaller design details are really mostly from Subaru's playbook going back at least ten years (and here I really wish I could liberate some photos from my hard drive to this thread, but I haven't found the magic word yet.) Anyway, the hexagon grille, the dart-shaped headlight units, the frameless windows (Subie's unique design for forty years past, though they have abandoned it recently), the fog light pods, the gasket-sealed leading edge of the hood, and others -- all can be found year after year on Subarus, which, being conservative, don't change very much at all.
Granted, cars are looking more and more alike as time goes on, and any visual details on a Subaru can be found on other cars, including Toyota, but when I'm gazing lovingly at my BRZ, I know I'm looking at a Subaru, even though under the hood lurks the name of Toyota on the engine badge in honor of the fuel injection system.
So, many happy miles to you in your twin, and to me in mine; we do drive one of the most noticed cars on the road, after all. It lends us a certain celebrity status, doesn't it?
