Following the world premiere of the new 2022 BRZ in North American specification last November, Subaru and Toyota held a joint-press conference Monday morning in Japan to introduce the JDM versions of the BRZ and GR 86 respectively.
While we’ve seen the BRZ before, Subaru
dropped a wealth of images and a video detailing the Japanese market version of
the BRZ which beyond the positioning of the steering wheel, is, for all intents
and purposes, identical to the car we’ll see in the States.
Power is supplied by a naturally aspirated
2.4-liter flat-four, just like the U.S.-spec model, though it is a hair more
powerful delivering an additional 4 HP at 232 HP and 250 Nm of torque. As with its Toyota twin, the boxer unit on the BRZ
can be coupled to a six-speed manual or a six-speed automatic transmission.
Subaru still hasn’t released official performance numbers of its new sports
car, but Toyota has, and the GR 86 does the 0-100 km/h in 6.3
seconds, so expect the 2022 BRZ to have identical figures.
As you can probably tell by now, there is
absolutely no difference in terms of styling between the version that will
launch in North America towards the end of the year and the Japanese model that
goes on sale this fall. The same applies between the BRZ and 86, as beyond the
front bumpers and daytime running light signature, there are no other visual
differences between the two, and even the interior is exactly the same.
Customers will find a new infotainment system
sitting in the middle of the driver-focused dashboard panel, next to the
digital instrument cluster. Trunk space seems decent for a car in this class
with Subaru stating that with the rear seats folded down, it can carry four
wheels, a set of golf clubs or a mountain bike.
Those behind the wheel will be assisted by
a range of safety gear that will include automatic emergency braking with
pedestrian detection, blind spot warning, radar-guided cruise control and
others that will be detailed when it launches later this year.
