Earlier this month, Toyota announced that turbocharged, all-wheel-drive, sedan, and hybrid models were coming to its FR-S lineup in 2016. Given that the FR-S is nearly identical to Subaru’s BRZ, Subie fans have been holding their breath for a souped-up version of their beloved drift machine for some time.
Yes, there is a new, special edition BRZ coming this year, but it looks like turbo addicts are going to be holding their breath for a while longer.
The 2015 BRZ Series.Blue, a limited, spacebar-hating variant of Subaru’s lauded sports car is coming to dealerships this July. The Series.Blue will feature a myriad of cosmetic, ergonomic, and aerodynamic enhancements, but unfortunately the powertrain will remain untouched.
The Blue series will wear STI-branded spoilers all around, which Subaru says provide additional front downforce, as well as black alloy STI wheels, red-finished brake calipers, and stainless steel exhaust tips.
The BRZ’s cabin will be revamped as well, with faux carbon fiber dash panels, a frameless day/night rear-view mirror, blue stitching accents, and a fancy illuminated start/stop button.
Subaru plans to produce 1,000 of the special edition BRZs in two colors: 500 in WR Blue Pearl, and 500 in Crystal White Pearl, both colors made famous by the WRX STI. In case you haven’t noticed, there’s a three-lettered theme emerging here.
Yes, the BRZ Series.Blue looks fantastic, but why tease us with a bunch of STI accents when you have no plans to build an actual STI version? That’s just mean, Subaru.
And for $4,000 over the base BRZ, I’m not sure the Series.Blue is worth the money. If we’re comparing it to the 2015 Scion FR-S, which will have some tweaks of its own, I think the FR-S wins. At only $400 dollars more than the base model, the FR-S’ performance enhancements overshadow the skin-deep tweaks to the BRZ.
I think I’ll take my $4,000 and make my own STI, thank you very much.
