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I was a bit of a boost junkie until I had a chance to drive some cars with truly remarkable NA engines. The Porsche Boxster S, for example, has an engine that delivers power linearly, sounds incredible, and keeps singing all the way to redline. Turbo charged cars can be a lot of fun, but if this car is going to be Miata-esque is its approach, then I think NA is the way to go.
The thing is, I do have reservations about a Subaru-developed powertrain in a sports car. I get that Subaru enjoys an almost cult-like level of devotion from its fans, but frankly, I've never really gotten what all the fuss is about. My observations and experiences with Subaru engines have been rather underwhelming: low specific output, poor fuel economy, tractor-like shift action, mediocre throttle response, etc.
I'm not so concerned about the power output of the FT-86's engine as I am with the fact that it needs to feel like an engine that belongs in a sports car. The same goes for the transmission. If it ends up with some horrible Forrester-esque shift action, then what's the point? Luckily, it sounds like the engineers working on the project have a very clear idea of how they want everything to feel, and that gives me some hope. Fingers crossed.
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