Surprised this wasn't posted

[imag]

Ward's auto, with a bit of commentary on the upgraded BRZ to come:

http://wardsauto.com/sales-amp-marke...ru-demand-2013

The recently launched Subaru BRZ sports car, the result of a collaboration with Toyota, has been well received and created buzz around the brand. The 2-seater is powered by a 200-hp 2.0L normally aspirated flat-4 engine, a 2013 Ward’s 10 Best Engines winner.

But in the sports-car segment, excitement over a new model can fade quickly if an auto maker stands pat, Lin says, hinting an update may be in the works.

“That segment has to have something fresh to keep the interest level high,” he says. “It will be important for us to manage the lifecycle of that product.”

Lin declines to say whether the BRZ will receive a turbocharged engine, a matter of speculation among enthusiasts. Current turbocharged Subaru engines won’t fit in the BRZ’s engine bay, but officials aren’t ruling out a solution down the road.

Good news to me. I hope that "something fresh" comes in the next year.

[xjohnx]

I wouldn't put much stock in that article. They do after all believe that the current BRZ is a 2 seater.

[suaveflooder]

And "normally" aspirated.....

I'm still curious, why add to the price tag and weight with any sort of FI? I just came from a FI car and there were a lot of problems that come with FI....mostly heat. On a car that is supposed to be fun and a good daily that is fun to track, FI really doesn't fit in that idea IMHO. I hope that they stay naturally aspirated, personally, but I know there are a lot of people wanting a turbo.

[dori.]

it says right there in text that there isn't any official word, so this is about as useful as any article that came before it.

besides, "having something fresh" doesn't equate to "we are adding a turbo to the car"

it could mean new variants like a (GASP) convertible.

[boredom.is.me]

1) Nothing is coming in the next year.
2) What so new about this article? There's something like this posted seemingly every week.

[Zaku]

Fresh could mean a new color lol, I dont mind another color would be cool and also if you we're going to get any thing turbo related expect America to be the last to know. information would come for a more reliable Japanese source, speaking from past experiences

[BRZnut]

I always like to read that there are many less BRZ's sold in the US compared to FRS. Only ~4000 so far (I've read they project 6000 for 2013) so less likely you will see them around town. I have yet to see another BRZ in my South Jersey travels

[Khazzy]

yeah the BRZ is harder to get period because of the agreement they have with Toyota. Even in Europe the BRZ is hard to get.

As for the article, yeah I did not notice anything confirming anything. I do not expect to see an upgraded model until maybe 2015's model.

I feel though they may have fixed the known issues as I am at almost 2k miles and no rough idle, no chirping (I am expecting it to happen though), and other little issues that the car had. Mid 4000's for my VIN.

[itsfun]

Since when did we start expecting iPhone like refresh cycles for cars? Especially since cars don't rely heavily on technological advances (the headunit in my BRZ is at least 5 year old tech). This car just came out and it seems a lot of people are already focusing on what's next. I'll admit I suffer from update'itis like the rest of us but I'm still reveling in this cars awesomeness. I really could care less what Subaru does next, except for a torque-dip fix. If I want more power I'm going to wrestle it out of the engine myself...

[imag]

When did I say I wanted a turbo?

The reason I thought the article was interesting was because Lin was talking about the need to keep things fresh, which sounded to me like they would not wait until the usual 3-year mid-cycle refresh to make any additions to the line. That's news.

Personally, I just want a premium version with real brakes and hopefully the bump in horsepower that they said was in the engine without FI. My guess is that an upscale version with the brakes is coming in the next year or two, but we might not get the horsepower bump until the three-year mark.

I believe them when they say the turbo won't work from the factory because of crash requirements. The turbo just happens to be something for journalists to bring up at every opportunity to pique interest.

[imag]

Originally Posted by itsfun

Since when did we start expecting iPhone like refresh cycles for cars? Especially since cars don't rely heavily on technological advances (the headunit in my BRZ is at least 5 year old tech). This car just came out and it seems a lot of people are already focusing on what's next. I'll admit I suffer from update'itis like the rest of us but I'm still reveling in this cars awesomeness. I really could care less what Subaru does next, except for a torque-dip fix. If I want more power I'm going to wrestle it out of the engine myself...

The reason is that some of us haven't bought the cars yet. If I had, I would probably hope for as few changes as possible so I didn't feel jealous.

However, I am holding off on buying until the Premium/STI/Whatever they want to call it because:

1. I don't need to buy right now
2. I want trackworthy brakes stock, along with hopefully improved suspension components and lighter wheels. I don't want to dump $10K on mods for a brand-new car; I would prefer to spend $6K on a complete, factory tuned package.
3. I am *hoping* for the 20-30 hp stock that the car (in my humble opinion) needs.

It seems to me that it is only a matter of time, but I would prefer that it come out in one year rather than two or three. Porsche has a habit of getting their upgraded editions out within a year or two of the base model release, so there is a slim possibility that Subyota will follow a similar model to keep interest up.

[CallmeDave]

The car just came out.....people are just now starting to get them.

[ashtray]

They WILL keep the car fresh. When demand slides lower than supply, they may offer different wheels, an STi catback exhaust, different color, an armrest, etc. just look at the WRX - they've been stringing that model along with few changes year to year. Nothing drastic. The BRZ is a LOW VOLUME car. They only need to make a change when media buzz fades away. They've already announced a convertible (I'm thinking this may be a Scion only model - just my guess) - so when that comes out in the next 12-18 months it will be "fresh". They might do an STi version that they only sell 300/yr, but it "keeps it fresh" for magazines to test and write reviews about - while the "base model" goes unchanged. (Come to see the new STi, but leave in a base model.)

Will the BRZ get factory hp bump? Yes. Will it happen for MY2014? Not likely. Will they bump the price if its an added feature like FI? You'd better believe it. If they add any features will the price go up? Yes. Will they still want to sell a Premium model priced at $25k to be in the market at a competitive price? Yes. So don't expect the base model to change much in the next 6 years. Don't expect big changes every 12 months. Do expect the price to go up if they give you more power/features.

[Slickvic]

Originally Posted by dori.

it says right there in text that there isn't any official word, so this is about as useful as any article that came before it.

besides, "having something fresh" doesn't equate to "we are adding a turbo to the car"

It could mean new variants like a (GASP) convertible.

Yeah, well....Gasp away:

http://www.gtspirit.com/2012/03/01/t...6-convertible/

http://www.autoblog.com/2013/02/15/s...in-south-afri/