At lot has been said about the FT-86, now officially called GT86 by the media and enthusiasts alike. There are now official pictures and technical stats available for the GT86 and BRZ. First run of videos on YouTube are from Toyota who did a huge press release for the long awaited vehicle. Obviously I can only go off what other press releases and articles that have been written by those who have driven the car, but like all consumers, first impressions are very important.
I know that Toyota will sell a ton of these under the Scion label in the U.S. if they hit the right price, which from what I am seeing so far is about 8k lower than what they are asking. If you are going to ask 28 to 30k for a sports car, it better be pretty strong in one or two categories. The Mazda MX-5 (Miata) touches the 28k asking price when loaded with a retractable hard top and pretty well loaded up. Little different demographic with the MX-5 on the street, but on the track, it is a great car. At 30k you are in Mustang GT territory, which has proven to be a unlikely, yet formidable track toy and a great car for the street.
I understand what Toyota and Subaru were trying to do with this car. Reply to a need in the market that Toyota has avoided while curbing the start up costs with a partner and hopefully create something both Toyota and Subaru think the customer will like. In my opinion you mixed oil and water on this one. Toyota=conservative – Subaru=aggressive. The end result is a watered down version of a car that could be truly amazing.
The reality is at this time Subaru does not want to siphon sales from the WRX STi for the new BRZ at this time. The BRZ has less power, creature comforts, and RWD vs. the STi which addresses all those issues. They need to make a decent price and performance gap between the two in order to ensure there is not a mass exodus from the WRX STi to the new BRZ. I am sure there are arrangements with Toyota in place that Subaru cannot release an STi package for this car at this time in order to secure sales of the early adapters.
If Subaru were to add the STi package to the BRZ we would be around 35k asking price and that is right in the WRX STi’s wheel house. I am sure Subaru has a plan for this car, and I hope they will be addressing what most enthusiasts want at this price point. So here’s to hoping that Subaru brings the STi line to this car and does all of us a favor by adding forced induction and getting us to around 280-300 hp.
Here are two vids from the press release in Japan that Toyota just hosted.
