2022 BRZ Limited Results @ Car and Driver Lightning Lap 2022 Competition

[Hachiroku]

2022 Subaru BRZ Limited at Lightning Lap 2022

Lap times, schmap times. This car is deeply fun.

Lap Time: 3:12.4

Class: LL1 | Base: $31,455 | As Tested: $31,455
Power and Weight: 228 hp • 2842 lb • 12.5 lb/hp
Tires: Michelin Pilot Sport 4, 215/40R-18 85Y

The playful character that makes the BRZ such fun to drive on the street—its quick-witted responses and willingness to slide its tail—is every bit as present at VIR. It's a heart-racing blast that slip-slides through corners, even if it posts the slowest lap time of the year.

Compared with the 2018 BRZ tS at Lightning Lap 12, this second-gen Limited model has a significantly stiffer suspension and structure and a new 2.4-liter flat-four with 23 more horsepower and 28 more pound-feet of torque. It runs on the same 215/40R-18 Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tires. But it lacks the tS's firm Sachs dampers, big rear wing, and stout Brembo brakes. The new model's brakes are marginal for track use, but with high-temp DOT 4 brake fluid added by Subaru, the BRZ will survive two consecutive laps without any pedal-to-the-floor issues.



Given the new BRZ's mechanical pluses and minuses, we expected it to lap faster than the tS, and it did, by 1.6 seconds. The new car takes half-second bites out of the tS in Sectors 1, 2, and 5, while they remain virtually equal through Sectors 3 and 4. The difference in horsepower is obvious on the front straight, where the Limited's 127.4-mph peak speed is 8.7 mph higher than the tS's.

Like its predecessor, the new model is deeply fun to balance on the knife edge of its neutral chassis. A quick lap requires you to keep oversteer at bay, sliding just enough—but not too much—to help rotate the car. That requires judicious use of the throttle and quick hands to catch the rear the moment it starts to act. Get it right in the sweeping NASCAR bend and the left-right-left-right cutbacks of the Infield, and you'll feel a jolt of electricity run through you. Lap times, schmap times.

Watch the BRZ lap video:
https://www.caranddriver.com/feature...lightning-lap/

Read the Lightning Lap 2022 Competition Article:
https://www.caranddriver.com/feature...ning-lap-2022/

[Dubscientist]

Impressive.

[LRNAD90]

Interesting that the GR86 is faster (marginally) despite them saying the brakes (without the benefit of higher temp fluid in the BRZ) were less confidence inspiring. But then they go on to say the driving experience was pretty much identical.

So am I to assume if given a higher temp brake fluid, the GR may have picked up another couple of tenths? And what do they attribute the minor time difference between the nearly identical cars to, just production variances (some cars are going to be better than others from the factory)?

[bcj]

Gosh, only two cars in the lowest price group.
Pity those poor slobs that can only afford the bargain basement.

[MisterGoober]

Pretty amazing when you look at the competition. Also, it's interesting to see how far cars have come in 10-15 years. The current twins are faster than the 2008 ISF, 350/370Z (same ballpark) etc.

[fredzy]

I think this article finally swayed me. I'm going to get my GR86 deposit back from Toyota and put it toward an AMG GT Black.

[quikag]

Originally Posted by fredzy

I think this article finally swayed me. I'm going to get my GR86 deposit back from Toyota and put it toward an AMG GT Black.

haha! Or you could just buy 10 GT86's.

[Sasquachulator]

Originally Posted by quikag

haha! Or you could just buy 10 GT86's.

you only need 7, one for each day of the week.

[Midnightsky]

Originally Posted by fredzy

I think this article finally swayed me. I'm going to get my GR86 deposit back from Toyota and put it toward an AMG GT Black.

......Those 2 vehicles do not cross shop......at all, so the GR86 was absolutely never ever going to be enough for you.

[Dylans47]

Originally Posted by Midnightsky

......Those 2 vehicles do not cross shop......at all, so the GR86 was absolutely never ever going to be enough for you.

He was joking...

[Midnightsky]

Originally Posted by Dylans47

He was joking...

one can only hope lol

[Interceptor777]

I don't see why you would put your money towards some silly "AMG" when the twins are clearly the most pure bred and fastest race cars out there. All you need is an eBay widebody and the local muffler shop special. Boom, the fastest car in the mall parking lot.

[Midnightsky]

Originally Posted by Interceptor777

I don't see why you would put your money towards some silly "AMG" when the twins are clearly the most pure bred and fastest race cars out there. All you need is an eBay widebody and the local muffler shop special. Boom, the fastest car in the mall parking lot.

I was thinking more along the lines of a Craigslist backyard special lol

[AK2112]

VIR is too much track for a bunch of the cars in this test.

I suppose that's why they run it, but when half of the results just complain about tires and brakes not holding up, it's kind of stupid.