The Subaru BRZ Prologue makes its debut in Frankfurt - sort of

Leading up to the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, Subaru announced that we would get our first good look at their joint venture with Toyota, named the Subaru BRZ Prologue and while the company made good on offering a closer look at the new rear wheel drive sports car, we still don’t know what the Subaru version will look like.

We have known for what seems like years that Toyota and Subaru have been hard at work on a rear wheel drive sports car that will be offered as a unique model by each of the two Japanese automakers but while Toyota has shown off Concept forms of their FT-86ii, Subaru has kept the wraps on their new sports car. However, a few weeks back Subaru announced that this new sports coupe got a name of its own – the BRZ – standing for Boxer engine, Rear wheel drive, Zeta platform. Unfortunately, this only told us what we already knew but Subaru promised to offer the world its first look at the new BRZ Prologue.

The Subaru BRZ Prologue is on display now at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show but it is displayed in a unique cutaway form that offers a close look at the drivetrain while only the basic silhouette of the BRZ is shown. The BRZ Prologue cannot even be called a concept because the BRZ display is far from a full vehicle with a mere skeleton housing the Boxer engine and rear wheel drivetrain, along with the suspension and braking tidbits of the new sports car. This gives show goers a great look at the components that will provide the performance aspect of the Subaru BRZ right down to the wheels and tires but, as you can see in the images on the right, we still don’t have a good idea of what the BRZ will look like when it hits the streets.

Should the Subaru BRZ (if that is the name given to the production model) offer a shape similar to the skeletal look of the BRZ Prologue, the Subaru version of the joint venture with Toyota will have a more rounded look than that of the Toyota FT-86ii. In addition to the framework of the BRZ Prologue that is little more than a 3 dimensional, life size teaser, spy shots around the internet have shown the Subaru rear drive sports coupe wearing heavy camo – although these spyshots confirm that the BRZ sports a rounded body with the wheels pushed near the corners for improved handling. Also, just based on the BRZ Prologue and the spyshots, we can expect the exterior of the Subaru model to differ enough from the Toyota FT-86ii to allow them to attract buyers with different tastes as opposed to a straight re-badge of one car to market under another brand.

The biggest question now is when will we finally get to see the Subaru BRZ in more than a skeleton form and when will this, and the Toyota FT-86ii, meet the world in a format similar to that which will hit dealerships?

Other Frankfurt Motor Show News:
The Toyota FT-86ii Concept shows up at Frankfurt with little change
The Chrysler 200 makes its Lancia Flavia debut in Frankfurt
Production of the Fisker Sunset Convertible confirmed in Frankfurt
The Ford Fiesta ST Concept debuts at the 2011 Frankfurt show
The Jeep-based Maserati Kubang drops at Frankfurt 2011
Lamborghini confirms Sesto Elemento production in Frankfurt

Images courtesy of Subaru