Live Pics of Subaru Boxer Sports Car Architecture (BRZ) from Geneva! + Press Release

[70NYD]

cunnart stop being a **** yeah?
on the gearbox note, does anyone have the link to the gearbox piccies someone (i beleive was dimman?) posted a while back from the apparent leak? we could compare it now and see if anything is holding water

[Hachiroku]

Subaru Press Release:

Subaru Rear-Wheel-Drive Sports Car

The Rear-Wheel Drive (RWD) Sports Car, which is currently under joint development with Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota), incorporates into a new generation sports car with an ambition to provide driving pleasure to a wider range of customers. Thanks to its "front-engine, rear-wheel drive layout", further lowered centre of gravity, compact and lightweight body and short wheel base, it delivers a new level of driving excitement with very unique crisp handling. The car will be the only existing front-engine, rear-wheel drive sports car powered by a Boxer engine in the world, by making full use of both companies' expertise: Subaru's Horizontally-Opposed Boxer engine and performance car technologies and Toyota's RWD technologies.

This new car is rooted in both companies' engineering philosophy. Subaru's engineering excellence, renowned for providing "Enjoyment and Peace of Mind" to its loyal customers, has been applied to the car's development. Subaru's idea of a front-engine, rear-wheel drive layout that was already used in the "Subaru P-1", Subaru's first prototype passenger car, as well as the expertise acquired during the development of the "Subaru XT" or of the fully-fledged speciality coupe model "Subaru SVX" were also incorporated into the model's development.

This Subaru Rear-Wheel Drive Sports Car, as Subaru's first mass-produced front-engine, rear-wheel drive model, is expected to be produced in spring 2012 at a Subaru production plant in Japan.

Subaru's Development Philosophy and the Rear-Wheel-Drive Model

Ever since Subaru started building cars, Subaru's objective has always been that of providing customers with enjoyment and peace of mind. Subaru's development philosophy lies at the heart of each and every model ever produced, offering customers an assurance of driving "Confidence". With such a consistent approach to the development of cars, Subaru has released a range of unique, innovative products to suit the requirements of customers at any point in automotive history, some of which include cars with Rear-Wheel, Front-Wheel and All -Wheel drivetrains.

Subaru developed the Subaru P-1, its first prototype passenger car, in 1954. To create a car that delivered a comfortable ride, Subaru determined that it needed to have an excellent suspension system and a lightweight, rigid body. To achieve this, a front-engine, rear-wheel drive layout was used for the drivetrain and chassis, and a full monocoque design for the body – the first of its kind in Japan. Powered by a 1.5-litre engine, the classic 4-door sedan Subaru P-1 prototype was produced in its dozens. Although it never made it to the market, the Subaru P-1 was considered the forefront of innovative Subaru engineering.

Some of the pioneering features found in the Subaru P-1 included an independent wishbone suspension system at the front, and a proprietary lightweight and rigid, full monocoque body design developed with the aid of aircraft technology born from the very origins of Subaru. Expertise and development philosophies that were raised during this time blossomed into a range of innovative ideas and advanced technologies that would later be applied to the development of the "Subaru 360", Japan's very own mini car for the public at large. These key concepts also found their way into the "Subaru 1000", the earliest Front-Wheel Drive model to be powered by Subaru's first Horizontally-Opposed Boxer engine, and other All-Wheel Dive (AWD) models used as the base platform for passenger cars. Indeed, these concepts continue uninterrupted to this day with the subsequent development of Subaru's current distinctive crossover models.

Technology Exhibit: "BOXER Sports Car Architecture"

Behind the new level of driving excitement and pleasure that the RWD Sports Car delivers is its new platform technology, built around Subaru's key component – the Horizontally-Opposed Subaru Boxer engine. A new platform has been developed based on Subaru's renowned AWD model package in order to extract the maximum performance potential required of the RWD Sports Car. The "BOXER Sports Car Architecture" represents a proposal of Subaru's new definition of driving excitement.

Subaru Boxer engine

At the heart of this Technology Exhibit is Subaru Boxer engine. It is its lightweight, compact and low centre of gravity that lends itself to the level of driving excitement that Subaru is aiming for, and is without a doubt the most suitable engine for the RWD Sports Car. The Subaru Boxer engine can be constructed of aluminium owing to its compact and rigid engine design, making for a much lighter power unit. Its low centre of gravity provides a high level of driving stability and remarkable handling. Since the piston's opposing movements inherently counteract each other, no balance shaft is needed. This cancels out excess vibrations and gives the engine a sprightly, sporty feel at virtually any engine speed. Needless to say, the Subaru Boxer engine has certain underlying characteristics that make it suitable for such sporty driving.

In the BOXER Sports Car Architecture, Subaru's Boxer engine, which originally features a low centre of gravity and optimum weight balance, is even lowered and set back further towards the centre of the chassis. This feature also offers a low-profile sports car silhouette with its lowered engine hood design, resulting in a lowered driving position. All these elements deliver excellent driveability, stability as well as handling performance.

Optimised Chassis Layout for the RWD Sports Car

Another important factor that enables the RWD Sports Car to deliver driving performance befitting of a Subaru is its chassis. Rather than simply developing a frame and body that focuses purely on speed, development has been conducted to produce a chassis that delivers Subaru's authentic driving characteristics: a sporty driving experience, an overall enjoyable ride, and stable drivability with driver confidence. The result is that the tyres follow every subtle variation in the road surface and that it responds exactly to the driver's input. The BOXER Sports Car Architecture does not depend solely on engine power output – instead it maximises the potential of this newly developed chassis to achieve the fundamental characteristics of a rear-wheel drive sports car by delivering sporty performance as driver and vehicle work in unison, as well as providing agile response afforded by its short wheel base. Subaru's distinctive suspension setup has been used, incorporating struts at the front, and a double-wishbone layout at the rear, to provide outstanding stability and control.

When compared to other Subaru AWD models, the engine now sits even lower and further back in the engine bay. A lower centre of gravity, now located further toward the middle of the chassis itself, gives optimum front-rear weight balance for a RWD sports car. Drivers will discover a remarkable, natural feel when cornering, giving new level of driving excitement. A short front overhang, matched with a shorter rear overhang reduces any yaw moment of inertia generated, and provides a higher level of stability and control, and handling performance of a pure sports car.

The RWD Sports Car's platform technology adds a completely new package to complement Subaru's existing AWD platform. This package will open Subaru's renowned on-road performance to a broader range of customers. At the heart of this drivability lies Subaru's engineering philosophy that constantly provides enjoyment and peace of mind. The "BOXER Sports Car Architecture" is a technical masterpiece that has been designed so that drivers can fully enjoy Subaru's new approach to driving pleasure, with the full knowledge that they are constantly supported with the sense of confidence that only a Subaru can provide.

Major Specifications of "BOXER Sports Car Architecture":
Body size (Overall: Length x Width x Height): 4,200 x 1,770 x 1,270 mm
Wheelbase: 2,570 mm
Engine: 2.0-liter naturally-aspirated four cylinder Horizontally-Opposed Boxer engine
Tire size: 215/45R17

[ft86cbx]

I was just reading this press release. What have I missed:

"The car will be the only existing front-engine, rear-wheel drive sports car powered by a Boxer engine in the world"

Isnt the Toyota FT fe/rwd and powered by a boxer engine???

Whats the deal? Are we def going to have 2 versions sub/toy or are we only getting the 1 jointly presented? Afterall, sub only show the architecture and toy only ever show the body etc... Im starting to wonder...

[Dimman]

Originally Posted by NESW20

Subaru still currently has like 3 different AWD systems. none of which will be on their RWD sports car.

Technically if you want to say the different transmissions are different AWD systems, sure (torque splits and methods are different from tranny to tranny). But they all fit the same way, all the front axles still come out of the same place in the trannys (none use a separate transfer case with a second forward driveshaft). And none are even possible to use on this car given its motor's placement.

[Hachiroku]

Originally Posted by ft86cbx

I was just reading this press release. What have I missed:

"The car will be the only existing front-engine, rear-wheel drive sports car powered by a Boxer engine in the world"

Isnt the Toyota FT fe/rwd and powered by a boxer engine???

Whats the deal? Are we def going to have 2 versions sub/toy or are we only getting the 1 jointly presented? Afterall, sub only show the architecture and toy only ever show the body etc... Im starting to wonder...

I think by "car" they mean the two cars that are part of the joint project. There will be both a Toyota/Scion and a Subaru version.

[Jordo!]

I like how Subaru is creating this interesting story about why RWD cars are in their DNA just as much as AWD -- ha!

Looks like whoever said AWD was going on this car owes me a beer

[linkwpc]

I wanted this car to be turbo so badly! I think Subaru failed on this one.... Non turbo for this car sucks.....

[Matador]

Originally Posted by linkwpc

I wanted this car to be turbo so badly! I think Subaru failed on this one.... Non turbo for this car sucks.....

Are you going to piss and moan about this in every thread? A turbo version is a given. If not, there will be turbo kits.

[NESW20]

Originally Posted by Dimman

Technically if you want to say the different transmissions are different AWD systems, sure (torque splits and methods are different from tranny to tranny). But they all fit the same way, all the front axles still come out of the same place in the trannys (none use a separate transfer case with a second forward driveshaft). And none are even possible to use on this car given its motor's placement.

yeah, i was going with different torque splits. i know they all mount the same and have the same front. and i'm very glad that none are possible in the FT86.

Originally Posted by Jordo!

Looks like whoever said AWD was going on this car owes me a beer

you and me both!

Originally Posted by linkwpc

I wanted this car to be turbo so badly! I think Subaru failed on this one.... Non turbo for this car sucks.....

go home. seriously. stop what you're doing and leave, immediately. toyota and subaru have never once given us any indication that there's going to be a turbo version. it's people like you that have started false rumors and worked yourselves up into a frenzy over the "omg, it needs turbo, and awd" so i have zero sympathy for you.

[thestratomaster]

http://www.insideline.com/subaru/sub...rformance.html

ambitious goal, but it's good to hear. They are thinking about a turbo according to the article, just sometime down the road

[zigzagz94]

Originally Posted by thestratomaster

http://www.insideline.com/subaru/sub...rformance.html

ambitious goal, but it's good to hear. They are thinking about a turbo according to the article, just sometime down the road

" Masuda is not ready to offer a final weight on the sports car, but says it's approximately 20 percent lighter than the Subaru Impreza STI.

Transmission options have not yet been finalized, but both a new manual and automatic are expected.

Will the sports car ever offer all-wheel drive? It is possible. So is a turbo verison, says Masuda. "We have no concrete plan about a turbo, but we are open in the future."



Curb weight for 2011 STi is 3373lbs for five door and 3384 for 4 door so according to this we can assume Subie version of FT-86II to weigh roughly: 2700lbs

[linkwpc]

Originally Posted by NESW20

go home. seriously. stop what you're doing and leave, immediately. toyota and subaru have never once given us any indication that there's going to be a turbo version. it's people like you that have started false rumors and worked yourselves up into a frenzy over the "omg, it needs turbo, and awd" so i have zero sympathy for you.

LOL! I hit a nerve huh? lol! You think you are to scary me away? I have the right to say my opinion. Thats what this forum is for. I'm not worry about disrespectful guys like you. You do not have to listen if you do not want too. I still think that the subaru version should be turbo. There is not point to have the toyota and the subaru version to both have RWD and both have the same engine. That just not make any sense! The non turbo 2.0L is just to weak. I do not want to add a turbo. I want a car that two door from subaru with turbo and a factory warranty. Is that hard to ask for?

[NESW20]

haha, fair enough. i see you are not new to the interwebz. :happy0180: let me rephrase:

Toyota and Subaru have never given us any concrete evidence that the standard models will come with a turbo. The Gsport is an exception, but that was far from a factory model. For the intention of the car, from everything Toyota and Subaru claim to have set out to do, a turbo doesn't really fit into the equation. Calling the car a "failure" when it accomplishes everything it originally set out to do is unfair.



and yes, you did kind of strike a nerve. i've been dealing with people spouting off about turbo this and AWD that since October 2009, haha.

[cyde01]

It's worth noting that the automaker has confirmed for the first time here at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show that the upcoming production version of this sports car is coming to America.

via autoblog. it's not in subaru's press release but perhaps someone from the media asked a subaru representative and they confirmed this. so i guess that means we can put the rumors that the subaru badged version were europe only to rest? http://www.autoblog.com/2011/03/01/g...ter-non-turbo/