Gravity and weight the main reasons for free-breathing new Subaru BRZ

Subaru has attributed the desire to retain a lower centre of gravity as one of the main reasons for continuing with normal aspiration in the new BRZ revealed earlier this week.

The main topic of speculation ever since rumours began emerging two years ago about the second generation BRZ and its Toyota GT86 twin, which will reportedly be renamed GR86, Subaru’s Public Relations Head for North America, Dominick Infante, told Road and Track that the application of the turbocharged FA 2.4-litre flat-four would have called for the engineers to raise the ride height in order to compensate for the engine being mounted lower than in the Ascent SUV, which in turn would have complicated the handling.

Outputting 170kW/250Nm as opposed to the 191kW/376Nm in the Ascent and Legacy, the inclusion of a turbo, while to the benefit of performance and power relative to the outgoing 147kW/205Nm 2.0-litre unit, would have also added weight and further impact on the BRZ’s price which is slated to start at around $30 000 (R463 396) for the entry-level Premium fitted with the six-speed manual gearbox in the States.

So far unconfirmed for local introduction, the BRZ will go on sale next year with Toyota set to unveil its interpretation either near the end of this year or in early 2021.

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