2013 Subaru BRZ

Subaru teams with Toyota on a compact sporty coupe with dashing looks and a competition-bred chassis for “drifting” devotees and other young hotbloods. Like sister Scion FR-S, the BRZ is rear-drive only, which could be tough to explain for a brand synonymous with AWD.

What It Is 

The 2013 Subaru BRZ is a compact 4-seat sporty coupe sharing a basic design and a 4-cylinder rear-wheel-drive powertrain with the Scion FR-S at Toyota’s youth-focused brand. Slated to begin U.S. sale by summer of 2012, both models are intended as affordable, practical enthusiast cars boasting superior rear-drive handling characteristics in a class where most direct rivals are front-drive. Pricing has yet to be announced, but several sources expect the FR-S to start in the $20,000-$25,000 range; the BRZ would presumably be in the same neighborhood.

The BRZ/FR-S is the first vehicle developed jointly by giant Toyota and much-smaller Subaru, but the two have collaborated since 2005, when Toyota purchased a minority interest in Subaru parent Fuji Heavy Industries. As an early result of the partnership, Subaru builds midsize Toyota Camry sedans at its plant in Lafayette, Indiana, a mutually successful endeavor that is said to have been one impetus for the sporty-coupe venture. The new project benefits Toyota by giving it access to Subaru’s expertise in horizontally opposed engines and experience as a power in World Rally Championship competition. Subaru, in turn, gets a new model for far less money than by developing it alone.

Significantly, the 2013 Subaru BRZ and Scion FR-S are the first sporty coupes these brands have offered in quite some time. Toyota’s last such car was the final-generation Celica of 2005, Subaru’s the 6-cylinder SVX of now-distant 1992-97. The new twosome has been previewed since 2009 via various teaser concepts: three named Toyota FT-86, a Scion FR-S version for the 2011 New York Auto Show, and Subaru-branded “architectural” models with transparent, generically styled bodies. Because Scion is strictly a North American brand, the FR-S will be sold in other markets as a Toyota, possibly with a badge that includes the number “86.” More on that under “Why It’s Being Built.”

The BRZ/FR-S project has taken advantage of each partner’s strengths, with Toyota in charge of product planning and program execution and Subaru being responsible for vehicle engineering and manufacturing. It’s our understanding that both versions will be sourced from a Toyota plant in Japan. Sales, of course, will be through each brand’s own dealer network.