New Stripped Down Toyota 86 RC and Subaru BRZ RA

New Stripped Down Toyota 86 RC and Subaru BRZ RA - The Toyota 86 and the Subaru BRZ go hand in hand, in whatever they do. The two brands have launched stripped down variants of their respective models in Japan offering a low cost solution for those buyers looking to use the coupes for track racing, as a blank canvas to create their own project or simply to own the most affordable variant.
The Toyota 86 RC and the Subaru BRZ RA are very similar, the only main difference being that the Toyota model gets unpainted front and rear bumpers. From there on, on the outside, both models come with unpainted door handles and mirror caps, 16-inch steel wheels, while there are no fog lights up front.
On the inside, the two companies removed most amenities including, but not limited to, the air-condition, audio system and speakers, the aluminum-look trim, alloy pedals and mats, while plastic covers the steering wheel, handbrake and gearshift levers. The Japanese carmakers even went as far as removing the decorative plastic covers in the engine bay.
Furthermore, there's no limited-slip rear differential while the rear brakes are not ventilated any more. What remains untouched is the 2.0-liter boxer engine rated at 200-horsepower. Both the 86 RC and Subaru BRZ RA are offered exclusively with the six-speed manual gearbox.
As a result of these changes, the base Toyota and Subaru coupes are 20kg /44lbs to 60kg/132lbs (depending on the trim-level) lighter than the regular versions.
In Japan, the Toyota 86 RC is priced at 1.99 million Yen (~US$26,000 / €19,900), while the Subaru BRZ RA 2,058,000 Yen (US$26,900 / €20,600).
In both cases, the base Subaru and Toyota coupes cost approximately 500,000 Yen (~US$6,500 /€5,000) less than the next grade level.

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Rumors: Toyota Readying a Supercharged Version of the GT 86?

Toyota Readying a Supercharged Version of the GT 86?

Toyota has repeatedly stressed that the GT 86 was developed as a pure, fun and easy to drive rear-wheel drive sports car, ignoring the horsepower race and concentrating instead on honing every detail of the chassis set-up. In fact, the Japanese carmaker was so determined to stay true to its promise that it even included drift tests in its development program. The production model is said to have an estimated 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) time of 6.8 seconds and a top speed of 230 km/h (143 mph).
However, almost everyone who has driven the 86 has found it lacking in oomph and, especially, low- and mid-range torque. In other words, you need to rev it hard to get the best out of it.
About a month ago, when the car was still known as the FT-86 and the first details were starting to leak into the web, we unveiled a Toyota Racing Development version of the car with a more aggressive bodykit.
Now, Autocar is reporting that Toyota chief engineer Tetsuo Tada has confirmed that TRD is indeed working on an even more powerful version of the GT 86 and prototypes are already being evaluated.
Despite the fact that Subaru, which provided the flat-four engine, employs turbocharging in its WRX and STi models, Tada said that he prefers supercharging as a way of increasing horsepower and low-end torque. That’s because, in contrast to turbocharging, it doesn’t affect throttle response of turbo lag nor the car’s drivability.
Supercharging has also been used in performance versions of previous Toyota models, such as the IS200, and as an aftermarket, TRD-developed power-enhancing accessory.
Toyota’s chief engineer wouldn’t reveal any numbers, but a 50HP increase in power should be easy.

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New Subaru BRZ Sports Coupe - First Official Pictures of Production Model

New Subaru BRZ Sports Coupe - First Official Pictures of Production Model

After the unveiling of the Toyota 86 (GT 86 in Europe) on Saturday, it's time for Subaru to take center stage with the presentation of its version of the jointly developed rear-wheel drive sports coupe in production guise. The new BRZ was revealed today less than two weeks after Subaru exhibited the STI-badged concept model at the Los Angeles Auto Show, and just before the sports coupe makes its first public outing under the spotlight at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show on Wednesday, November 30.
To the surprise of no one, the production BRZ loses the concept’s neat aero-kit with the large rear wing and carbon-fiber parts, but no need to worry as it's almost certain that Subaru's STI division will offer either the same or similar components as an option in due time.
Even though we knew from day one that the Subaru BRZ, the Toyota 86 and the upcoming Scion FR-S were all jointly developed by Toyota and Subaru, we had some hope that the cars might differ in appearance and flavor. As you can see for yourself, this never happened – at least with the BRZ and the 86.
From this first set of pictures, we see that the exterior styling changes between the BRZ and 86 are limited only to the re-sculptured front bumper, the alloy wheel designs, the fender trims and the tail lamp graphics (even the shape remains the same). We don't have any photos of the interior yet, but we’re willing to bet that there won't be any noticeable differences between the two cars.
The same goes for the mechanical hardware with the BRZ and the 86 sharing Subaru's 2.0-liter flat-four engine with Toyota’s “D-4S” direct injection and port injection technology, which is rated at 200-horsepower and 205Nm (151 lb-ft) of peak torque.
Power is transferred to the rear wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox with a short stroke shift lever or an optional six-speed automatic with paddle shifts on the steering wheel, while the BRZ also gets a specially tuned electronic stability control. The basic model will ride on 17-inch wheels wrapped around 215/45R17 rubber.
We could go on with the dimensions and the suspension setup but we'd be practically repeating what we said about the 86. In fact, come to think of it, we could have just swapped the words "Toyota" with "Subaru" and "86" with "BRZ" and be done with it. Too late now…

By John Halas

NEW SUBARU BRZ