Just thought I'd post this from what I posted on NASIOC, seeing as this looks to be a more appropriate place for discussion...
Code:
Car Weight Cost HP/Wt ratio Power
'11 Lotus Elise R 2010 $51845 0.0940 189
'14 Subaru BRZLOLWTF 2762 $????? 0.0905 250
'12 Porsche Cayman 2932 $51900 0.0903 265
'95 Mazda RX7 2882 $57702 0.0884 255
'09 Saturn Sky RL 3036 $33524 0.0856 260
'09 S2000 2864 $36771 0.0827 237
'14 Subaru BRZ STI 2662 $????? 0.0826 220
'11 Mini JCW 2668 $29100 0.0779 208
'11 Mazda RX8 3065 $26795 0.0756 232
'01 Acura Int Type R 2639 $32121 0.0738 195
'13 Subaru BRZ 2762 $25495 0.0724 200
'05 Celica GTS 2500 $26748 0.0720 180
'11 Mini Cooper S 2668 $23000 0.0678 181
'12 Miata Touring 2480 $25550 0.0673 167
'00 Impreza 2.5RS 2795 $26201 0.0590 165
'05 Celica GT 2425 $21161 0.0577 140
*all numbers derived from MSN Autos (US) and adjusted for inflation
Here's my old graph back to haunt me...
I put two entries into it. For the first, I reduced the weight of the BRZ by 100 lbs and added 20 hp. Everyone thinks the S2K has a decent power/weight ratio, right? For the second, I threw in the ridiculous 50hp option.
Which do you think is more realistic? Sure, there's no actual engine knowledge applied to this reasoning, but for some reason I'm pretty confident the first option is going to see the light of day long before the second. As for pricing, I imagine the cost of the BRZ STI will be marketed according to its peers (as in the graph) - I put my pricing expectation of the STI upgrade to be at least $5000USD more than the MSRP of the base model.