Advertisement

Toyota 86 and Subaru BRZ Production Winding Down, New Model Coming Soon

Photo credit: Andi Hedrick - Car and Driver
Photo credit: Andi Hedrick - Car and Driver

From Car and Driver

  • Subaru and Toyota are slowly ceasing production of the current BRZ and 86 rear-wheel-drive sports cars.

  • Subaru has closed orders for the BRZ in Japan, and Toyota is ending production of the 2020 86 this fall.

  • We hope this means that we'll soon learn more about the second-generation cars, which could be powered by a turbocharged boxer-four.

UPDATE 8/6/20: Subaru has confirmed to Car and Driver that the BRZ will not be offered for the 2021 model year.

Production of Subaru and Toyota's shared BRZ and 86 sports cars is slowly being phased out, meaning that the next-gen model should be coming soon. Toyota has already confirmed that there will be a second generation of the rear-wheel-drive sports cars, although there's no word on when they'll arrive. We think they should be here as early as next year.

Photo credit: Subaru
Photo credit: Subaru

Toyota is continuing production of the 2020 86 through the fall, a spokesperson told Car and Driver. However, Subaru Japan's website states: "We have finished accepting orders for build-to-order manufacturing of the models [BRZ] listed." The only BRZs left are those on dealer lots, so if you're wanting to spec out your own Subie you're out of luck. Or you could just wait until the new model comes out.

ADVERTISEMENT

Previous rumors have suggested that the new BRZ and 86 could be turbocharged. The powertrain in question is Subaru's turbocharged 2.4-liter flat-four found in the Subaru Ascent, Legacy, and Outback. It'll be good for around 260 hp and 277 lb-ft of torque, a welcome improvement compared to the current-gen's naturally aspirated 2.0-liter flat-four that makes 205 hp and 156 lb-ft of torque. We'll be shocked if they don't come standard with rear-wheel drive and a manual transmission.

There was talk that the new cars would be shown in concept form first, but the reason we haven't seen them yet could be due to delays caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Expect to hear more about the new cars once Toyota pulls the plug on production, possibly by the end of this year.

You Might Also Like