flipside909

Here are some pics I took at the Subaru BRZ STi Concept World Premier at the LA Auto Show:

Subaru BRZ STi Concept - FULL GALLERY

spwolf

wait... you are complaining about 2700lbs for top level FT-86, but you are perfectly fine with buying 3400lbs+ Genesis Coupe?

thats weird.

blacksc400

iTrader: (4)

I guess at least Genesis coupe has more power.

I would love to have 220HP FT-86 though, even if it cost couple extra thousands.

ST430

SPWOLF - (I'm saying this respectfully and politely because I am a staunch Toyco supporter), but please take off the Toyco fanboi hat for once. I am not attacking toyco, just voicing my disappointment and hoping they have hotter version in the works (remember, I come from Supras, S2000s, and Evos). As for the GC, a turbocharged car can easily be boosted further for more power (and the GC would finally have the Evo engine). If i cannot get the proper weight i'd like, then i would go back to all out hp and mods. what's weird about that? if the FR-S came spec'd as a 200hp 1.8L turbocharged car, then i could accept it because modifying for a boosted car is realtively easy and in good ol' SMOG **** land of CA much more doable then going from NA to FI. I would undoubtedly prefer lightweight first, then power, but if i cannot get one in the manner i like, then its on to the next trumping card. I come from Supra TT's to racing motorcycles for years before getting an Evo IX and going nuts with it. I settled back on an MR-S, because the wife wanted it then she changed her mind so i was stuck with it as a DD. Now that the market for sports cars is coming back, I'm entertaining buying another cage and souping it up again for DD/track duties. Whats so hard about that to understand?

cino

iTrader: (1)

If you boost more, you could void factory warranty. If so, why not get a car with boxer and add aftermarket turbocharger? Toyota stated many times already, it's a driver's and tuner car, that's why it was badged as Scion. I wonder how much more power you can squeeze out of GC since it's close to 20psi already.

ST430

I'm well aware of factory warranties and ways to circumvent this (i use to dyno tune my own Evo engine maps). This years GC engine would finally be equivalent to the EVO X powertrain (and not the ralliart version). This engine can be tuned quite a bit (just look at the EVO forums). I'm not too big of a fan of the new front fascia however, so i'm holding out hope that at least Subaru will bring out a BRZ STI version (i'd buy it in a sec). That or maybe Scion offers a racer's model stripped down to 2400-2500 lbs. I already had visions in my head of going stripping interior, throwing RPF1s, carbon fiber hood / trunk, yanking out the spare tire, etc. to hopefully curb weight further. That would be one hot coupe for the track!

cino

iTrader: (1)

I think you can easily get power bump with bolt ons and flashing, but it's harder and more expensive to get lighter weight. I believe that FA20 in BRZ and FRS is still a detuned version because they probably use the same engine in WRX/STI too, so you can possibly unlock a lot of power from it. I'm also waiting for either TRD or STI version too, hopefully they will introduce either one or both on the second year.

F1Driver

It seems to me the FR-S is nothing more than a rear wheel drive Acura RSX/Civic Si. I mean the car weighs about 2700 lbs with only 197 hp, 220+ hp would have been better for a car that weighs that much.

Kostamojen

Other than a Miata, name one affordable RWD car currently for sale that is under 3000lbs...

MR_F1

The MkIV supra in 2011 Money is somewhere between $55 and $70K. Not even taking into consideration the strong performance of the Yen in today's economy. Going all out, costs money. That being said, IMHO they did go all out in their own way. Aside from exotic makers, Mazda is the only other company that makes a car this light that meets modern safety and emissions standards....and it's a 2 seater.

I agree, a bit more power would be nice, but a) I'm sure that the engine is pretty restricted from factory if the GR and UR are any indication and b) I have no doubt that if not Toyota, then Subaru will release a more powerful version in the not so distant future. Those that have driven it say the chassis seems more than capable of handling it. It goes back to sales. This is a unique platform, engineered from scratch. It's not a mainstream sedan, so it won't sell in corolla numbers. Therefore, it will have to have a longer than normal product cycle (as most "mainstream" sports cars do), to be able to keep it fresh, you can't just deliver everything out the door.

The Genesis does offer a bucket load more of HP.... but at it's WORST the FR-S/FT-86/BRZ comes in at 600lbs lighter. You claim to be a tuner. You should KNOW how hard it is to sensibly and economically drop 600lbs off a car. Adding power is easy. A factory turbo would have made things a whole lot easier, but the flexibility of modifications that are hinted to be possible with this car, it really doesn't matter.

p.s. You are welcome.

bsl888

Nothing wrong with that, on top of that RWD.

spwolf

whats so hard to understand is that you cant get around to idea of going with aftermarket turbo for this, instead of accepting 700lbs heavier car, just because it has turbo.

plenty of us added turbo to MR-S and Celica. It is not particularly crazy or expensive. And it gives you base lightweight car with crazy potential.

apparently you have been around for a while, so why not custom turbo?

Scion tC has a lot of them available.... FT-86 should have tons. $5k for the kit and sky is the limit for the WHP.
http://www.turbo-kits.com/tC_turbo_kits.html

ST430

SPWOLF - Trying to argue the merits of aftemarket turbo kits in Smog **** land of California and trying to correlate it to the FT86 is a lose-lose battle. But if you've ever, ever done a smog check here, then I apologize...

ST430

I feel i'm just continually repeating myself.

a. Don't like the weight, given the hp
b. Admitted that I'm probably not the target demographic (but that doesn't mean i can rant about it)
c. Hope that added weight is to support a hi-po version coming /crosses fingers
d. Would still entertain buying the FR-S (practicality be damned LOL)
e. Still entertaining buying other cars (GC, 328ti, NSX, etc.)

=/

Kostamojen

Ya, you can't run a "kit" in California without it being CARB approved.

You CAN however do a full engine swap to a turbo motor, if you wire it up correctly and use the same emissions equipment for that motor and have it certified by a referee. More complicated process for sure, but there are plenty of Subaru shops even in the Bay Area that know how to do this.