Japan has been a busy place for car nuts over the last week. While things quieted down in most countries, it's all on high gear over here. I will be covering a total of six events in the space of 14 days, which is pretty crazy, schedule wise. But before I continue with the Mooneyes and Nismo Festival coverage I thought I'd revisit the Tokyo Motor Show for a couple of spotlights, starting first with the Super GT version of the Subaru BRZ.
I think this is what most people saw before they went inside the Subaru display, it's not exactly something you don't notice! Understandably, this car was getting its fair share of attention. I mean it's not every day that you see the race car of a street model, without seeing the car it's based on first.
The transformation to GT300 racer has been done tremendously well, unlike the somewhat chopped and strange looking Legacy it replaces.
It's simple; the BRZ is a nice looking car to start off with so the end result was always going to be good. And it couldn't possibly be more aggressive, no matter which angle you look at it from.
It's a pity to look at the details like the glossy carbon fiber front lip spoiler and grille when you know they are going to get destroyed on the race track next season.
I bet whenever Subaru Tecnica International makes a "BRZ tuned by STI" it will sport a similar fender emblem.
The GT300 BRZ runs the same turbocharged EJ20 that powered the Legacy this year, albeit slightly reworked and perfected. To cap power at around 300 PS the turbocharger is fitted with a restrictor so engineers tune the motor for lots of low-to-mid rpm grunt, not too dissimilar to the power delivery of a WRC engine.
The aerodynamics on Super GT cars are always very advanced, the BRZ at speed will generate tons of downforce thanks to that massive rear wing…
…and extractor. Seems these types of diffusers are getting more and more extreme.
The front and rear track of the car has been massively widened and as you see from the profile the body has "sank" towards the ground…
…so that the wheel arches sit higher than the hood line. Aside from its silhouette and central part of the chassis there isn't much in common with the road car.
Just to show that this is the real deal and not a mock up I grabbed an interior shot through the passenger side window. Looks like a cozy place! Drivers haven't been announced yet but maybe Kouta Sasaki might stay with the STI team for 2012. Can't wait to see this BRZ in action!
Tokyo Motor Show 2011 coverage on Speedhunters
-Dino Dalle Carbonare