All-New 2022 Subaru BRZ Makes Global Debut

[ZDan]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

They added front cold air ducts, rear hot air vents and out of the goodness of their hearts threw in a stock oil cooler.
Now, we know there were heat issues on the track with the first gen. This is indisputable from the number of people that had to resolve it.

I've never had oil or coolant temp problems with my '17 at the track, even on 95F days when my '11 2.9 Cayman would have coolant temp creep up and I'd have to back off after a few laps. Coolant and oil temps in the BRZ always stabilized. I've never had to back off or come in due to climbing temps.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by ZDan

I've never had oil or coolant temp problems with my '17 at the track, even on 95F days when my '11 2.9 Cayman would have coolant temp creep up and I'd have to back off after a few laps. Coolant and oil temps in the BRZ always stabilized. I've never had to back off or come in due to climbing temps.

There are literally hundreds of people that have though.

[AnalogMan]

Originally Posted by Red-86

Here is my quick and dirty attempt in Paint to clean up the side vents at the front. I think you could keep them, but just remove all the crappy black plastic around them which reduces their visual bulk and makes the front more tidy. S

The car looks so much better without the black plastic trim around the front vents! You should send those images to Subaru and suggest they consider the change for production cars. They might look at the images and scratch their heads and wonder why they thought surrounding them with cheap plastic and making them look like asteroid impact craters was a good idea. Without them and having the front end in body color gives a much cleaner, more cohesive look.

I've written to Subaru several times and they have always been responsive. You might consider contacting:

John Mergen
CustDlrServices@subaru.com

Failing that, I wonder how easy/hard it will be to take them off? I suspect they're either screwed/bolted in place which would leave holes, or more likely glued in, which could peel paint in removing them or leave residue to clean up. Hopefully someone will experiment, though it will take some brass cajones to start prying parts off a brand new car. Painting the black plastic is another option, but the material seems hard to get paint to stick to it.

[Quentin]

Originally Posted by AnalogMan

The car looks so much better without the black plastic trim around the front vents! You should send those images to Subaru and suggest they consider the change for production cars. They might look at the images and scratch their heads and wonder why they thought surrounding them with cheap plastic and making them look like asteroid impact craters was a good idea. Without them and having the front end in body color gives a much cleaner, more cohesive look.

I've written to Subaru several times and they have always been responsive. You might consider contacting:

John Mergen
CustDlrServices@subaru.com

Failing that, I wonder how easy/hard it will be to take them off? I suspect they're either screwed/bolted in place which would leave holes, or more likely glued in, which could peel paint in removing them or leave residue to clean up. Hopefully someone will experiment, though it will take some brass cajones to start prying parts off a brand new car. Painting the black plastic is another option, but the material seems hard to get paint to stick to it.

At this stage it is wayyyyy too late to be changing body parts. The design is final, tooling is built, they are ramping up to start production.

Any annoyance in aesthetics will be easily fixed with aftermarket bumpers for the minority of buyers that actually care, so there is no incentive for Subaru to change it unless the sales completely tank specifically because of that issue (see: camaro that had like 2 model years of that wonky grille).

As far as modding it, I’m certain it will be held in with clips for easy installation on the assembly line. Bolts cost time and money to install over just having it clip into place. Plastic vents into a plastic bumper is easily clipped into place.

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[dpfarr]

Aftermarket manufacturers take note.

[JesseG]

Originally Posted by Red-86

It’s still power that matters though. A torque figure in isolation tells you nothing, it is the torque x revs that provides the actual power that accelerates the car. Look at diesel engines for example, lots of torque, but with their relatively low redlines, often less powerful and slower than an ICE with less torque but a higher redline.

So the first version was correct, it is still ‘power to weight’ that matters. No race teams talk about ‘torque to weight’ as it is irrelevant and tells you nothing about performance in isolation. Power to weight is what delivers performance numbers.

But specifically looking at the 86/BRZ, we already know what a great car it is. The 2nd gen should improve that even further. The FA24 in this application will make more torque, more horsepower, and still rev above 7,000 rpm. I can almost guarantee everyone with a 1st gen will want one. Styling preferences aside.


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[Lantanafrs2]

Originally Posted by dpfarr

Aftermarket manufacturers take note.

Classifieds please take note lol

[gymratter]

https://www.automobilemag.com/news/2...ve-ride-along/

Yes, even without a turbocharger, Subaru’s new sports coupe feels like a winner.

THERMAL, California—Wait, wait, wait—you actually thought there was a chance the new 2022 Subaru BRZ would have a turbocharger? C'mon, you have to think more about the big picture. Sure, Subaru would like you to believe it is sticking to its free-breathing guns by choice, offering vague virtue signaling involving the low center of gravity that would likely be raised with the extra complexity of turbo ducting and cooling, or how the BRZ's ethos is of the revvy, simple, no-frills sports-car experience that would simply be ruined with the addition of forced induction.

Really? Is that why this simple, no-frills sports car also comes with five distinct stability-control modes, a new all-digital dash, and a new 8-inch touchscreen? Moving on. We're also going to ignore the fact that, while Subaru swears up and down that the turbo'd version of the FA24 flat-four engine found in versions of its Outback, Legacy, and Ascent isn't plug-and-play, the aftermarket will need only a few hours to successfully bolt a turbo onto the BRZ's 2.4-liter and retain that oh-so-excellent balance. That, or a full swap of the turbo FA24 for good measure.

2022 Subaru BRZ: Why No Turbo?
Yeah, yeah—aftermarket hack jobs done in grimy alley garages are lightyears from meeting exceptionally stringent OEM certifications, but Subaru/Toyota's insistence that a turbo wouldn't fit in the old 86/BRZ while highschoolers strapped big snails to their BRZs in their parent's driveway was akin to Lt. Frank Drebin in The Naked Gun shouting "Nothing to see here!" as an entire fireworks emporium detonated behind him.

Alright, so let's say Subaru did put the turbo 2.4-liter into the new BRZ. If not a single line of code is changed on the Ascent's engine tune, the engine would churn out a mostly impressive 260 horsepower and 277 lb-ft of torque. Now let's beef up the brakes, transmission, and rear differential to compensate for this power. Now we're at a curb weight of just more than 3,100 pounds or so compared to the real 2022 BRZ's 2,800-odd pounds, and the price climbs from what we think is just less than $30,000 to, oh, how about right around $40,000. Wait, are we talking about the BRZ or the Toyota Supra 2.0?

2022 Subaru BRZ: Avoiding In-Fighting
With 255 hp and 296 lb-ft of torque, rear-wheel drive, two-doors, a turbocharged four-cylinder, and a starting price of $43,945, there's no way, no how that project partner Toyota would ever let a turbocharged BRZ/86 drive sales away from its Supra 2.0, let alone a Subaru-only hot rod that would leave some scratching their heads as to why they would even consider the new normally aspirated 86 (whenever it comes out). Honestly, it's probably a bit of everything; extra complexity, price, and Supra-matching performance don't make for a compelling business case when this whole exercise is one that will probably occupy 1-percent of Subaru's total U.S. sales. If it does nab that tiny sliver, it's already a modest success; in 2019, the old BRZ accounted for just 0.33-percent—yes, it's that low—of Subaru's total U.S. footprint. Don't even get us started on what percentage the 86/Supra make up of Toyota's fleet.

Even if Subaru did detune the turbo 2.4 so it wasn't wheel-to-wheel with the Supra 2.0, what's the point? The new BRZ already has 228 hp, and that's within 27 hp of the turbo four-cylinder Supra. The extra torque would be nice, but just because you detuned the engine doesn't mean you don't still pay the weight and price penalty. As far as we can see, the 2022 Subaru BRZ is right where it needs to be.

A brief stint in the passenger seat on Thermal's private racetrack confirms this equilibrium. We haven't driven the new 2022 Subaru BRZ just yet, but a high-speed ride-along with former Formula 1/NASCAR driver and current rallycross star Scott Speed behind the car's redesigned steering wheel is the next best thing. After two laps of the coupe slip-sliding over Thermal's deliciously smooth tarmac, we're convinced the new Toyobaru twins are poised to be exactly what we wanted the original cars to be.

2022 Subaru BRZ Ride-Along: New Groove
Not that the prior trio of FR-S/BRZ/86 wasn't already among our favorite sports-car lineup on sale, it's just we usually counted ourselves part of the collective that blows a sacrificial head gasket at the altar of "More Power." The outgoing coupes were dangerously slow or incapable of smokey ass-out drifts, but that 2.0-liter flat-four wasn't really happy doing much of anything at all. No matter the updates and refreshes levied by Subaru and Toyota, the 2.0-liter possessed a glaringly obvious deadzone right in the middle of the tach that seemed like it would reward those who like to keep revs peaky, but only ended in frustration as we were forced to shift up when the going just started to get good.

As Speed kept the 2.4-liter on full boil, we couldn't find a single significant moment of that accelerative rigor mortis anywhere on the tach. Again, we only had two laps, but it felt strong from where we were sitting. The lion's share of this newfound exuberance comes from a dramatically rebent torque curve, with all 184 lb-ft coming in at 3,700 rpm versus the old 2.0's lofty 6,400-6,700 rpm. The extra 23 hp still maxes out toward the top at 7,000 rpm, but the influx of low-down torque smooths it all out nicely. In Speed's hands, it noticeably powered out of corners, something we didn't experience often in the older car.

2022 Subaru BRZ Ride-Along: We Can't Wait
Dynamically, it's tough to get a feel from where we were sitting, but the semi-softly sprung 2022 Subaru BRZ felt just as well-sorted and almost as rotation-happy as the first-gen car. The BRZ is more about playful movement than it is outright grip, but the new Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires offered on the BRZ Limited kept the prototype buttoned down more so than we're used to in the older coupes. Really, it felt less like an under-tired, under-powered compromise and more like the true affordable sports coupe we've always wanted.

One lap out, one lap in. Unfortunately, that's it for now, but we'll take time in the passenger seat over nothing at all. If anything, this just whet our appetite for some seat time more than a simple vehicle walk-around ever could. So chin-up, you turbo obsessives—things are looking good for the new 2022 Subaru BRZ, even without boost.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by JesseG

But specifically looking at the 86/BRZ, we already know what a great car it is. The 2nd gen should improve that even further. The FA24 in this application will make more torque, more horsepower, and still rev above 7,000 rpm. I can almost guarantee everyone with a 1st gen will want one. Styling preferences aside.


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Why? There are plenty that are happy with the current power levels. There are many more that have done mods to reach or exceed the new power. It certainly is not a case of "everyone" wanting one.
We still don'r even know what power will be put to the ground.

[TheDonEffect]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Why? There are plenty that are happy with the current power levels. There are many more that have done mods to reach or exceed the new power. It certainly is not a case of "everyone" wanting one.
We still don'r even know what power will be put to the ground.

That's a good observation and criticism of that comment. You are indeed right that not every single last person who owns a first gen will want the new car as what was said, how could that person be so sure that every single last person would want to upgrade? Clearly impossible, and therefore the point of his post is completely invalidated because clearly there are some, not all, not none, but some, maybe alot, maybe a little, but clearly enough to invalidate that not everyone, that are satisfied with the current engine, or has modified to their tastes to not want the new engine.

What an irresponsibly inaccurate post to say every single last person will want the new engine, thank you for clarifying for that because for a second there I thought wow that's going to be alot of cars being traded in, but now I know that will not be the case.

[vh_supra26]

Some close ups with the silver car.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by TheDonEffect

That's a good observation and criticism of that comment. You are indeed right that not every single last person who owns a first gen will want the new car as what was said, how could that person be so sure that every single last person would want to upgrade? Clearly impossible, and therefore the point of his post is completely invalidated because clearly there are some, not all, not none, but some, maybe alot, maybe a little, but clearly enough to invalidate that not everyone, that are satisfied with the current engine, or has modified to their tastes to not want the new engine.

What an irresponsibly inaccurate post to say every single last person will want the new engine, thank you for clarifying for that because for a second there I thought wow that's going to be alot of cars being traded in, but now I know that will not be the case.

Along the lines of your highly intellegent and relevent posts there Zippy?
He does not speak for everybody and I simply pointed out that there are loads happy with what there is. I am sure that somebody of you keenly developed sense of wit and sarcasm could have figured that out.

How about this:
NOBODY is going to buy that boyracer special since it is ugly as fuck.

That an accurate statement there?

[TheDonEffect]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Along the lines of your highly intellegent and relevent posts there Zippy?
He does not speak for everybody and I simply pointed out that there are loads happy with what there is. I am sure that somebody of you keenly developed sense of wit and sarcasm could have figured that out.

How about this:
NOBODY is going to buy that boyracer special since it is ugly as fuck.

That an accurate statement there?

And because of you, I am now aware that JesseG does not speak for everyone with a first gen car, and that JesseG doesn't know that every last first gen owner will want the new engine. It took you pointing that out for me to realize that people should not talk in absolutes when trying to casually make a point of expressing themselves, and that people should articulate their thoughts in an exacting manner.

Which is why I am now perplexed- you are the resident semantics authority, one that I trust to illuminate the path of accurate language, yet you say that nobody will purchase a certain vehicle of adolescent tastes because it is visually unappealing. I am not capable to deduce without your assistance that what I believe to be the point you are raising is your opinion that the cosmetics of a certain vehicle to be not of your preference, and not that you have an absolute insight to know that every last self aware being will not purchase this vehicle because like you they find something to not have the correct visual proportions that would equate to their own formula of beauty. I cannot distinguish between these two, among potentially additional, possible interpretations of your statement without your assistance.

In case it wasn't clear, I'm just poking fun at you for being captain obvious here, not trying to be a troll.

[TheDonEffect]

Originally Posted by vh_supra26

Some close ups with the silver car.

That video showed alot more of the shape to the front bumper... and I'm not sure if it's better. It has alot of the proportions of the current 86 bumper in that it it tapers inward at the bottom. I guess it gives it a more sleeker look, but I dunno, just looks sorta awkward.