2013 Subaru BRZ getting more global praise

On the 50th anniversary of the prestigious 2012 Wheels Car of the Year award in Australia, the 2013 Subaru BRZ and Toyota GT 86 have won yet another global award. Subaru’s BRZ sports car won the motoring magazine award together with its Toyota 86 joint partner. It was BRZ’s second major Australian award in the last three days. On Friday the two cars were named the News Limited CarsGuide 2012 Car of the Year.

BRZ’s win gives Subaru its fourth Australian Wheels Car Of The Year award in 18 years. During that period, Subaru has won more times than any other brand. The Impreza won in 2000, Liberty wagon in 1998 and Liberty in 1994. Now the BRZ has taken the award again in 2012 and it just keeps getting praise around the globe.

Six global awards this year

This year, the 2013 Subaru BRZ has received the News Limited/Carsguide Car of the Year 2012, Carsales Australia network’s People’s Choice Best Performance Car Under $100,000 (with the Toyota 86), 2013 Sports Car of the Year by Canadian website Auto123.com, 2012-2013 Japan Car of the Year “Special Award” (with the Toyota 86), 2012 Sports Car of the Year in French car magazine, Echappement, and the 10 Best Car and Driver award in the U.S.

Both the BRZ and Toyota GT 86 are made by Fuji Heavy Industries who is the parent company of Subaru, at its Gunma factory near Tokyo. The joint effort between the two Japanese automakers produced the highly successful two-door rear-drive sports car. “Seldom do joint projects produce something remarkable like this,” notes Wheels editor Stephen Corby.

Nick Senior, Managing Director, Subaru Australia, said: “This win is testament to the fantastic engineering skills of Subaru vehicles “BRZ has captured motoring enthusiasts’ attention in every market in which it has been launched and has received multiple awards worldwide, with the general impression being that it offers one of the most thrilling drives around at a fraction of the cost of its sports car competitors."

What does BRZ stand for?

In Australia, demand remains high and the BRZ has sold out well into next year. The compact sports car is a good value at just under $25,000 and provides a great deal of fun. In a surprising move in the UK, Subaru has dropped the Impreza, WRX and WRX STI and is focussing on sales of the BRZ with a new high-performance 2014 BRZ STI coming out next year. They are counting on BRZ sales to continue to remain high.

So what does BRZ stand for? The B stands for Boxer engine, the R, Rear-wheel drive, and Z stands for Zenith. Zenith has to do with the stars in the company logo. The definition of the word means the point on the celestial sphere that is directly above the observer, the upper region of the sky, the highest point above the observer's horizon attained by a celestial body and the point of culmination; the peak.

The Subaru 2013 BRZ has certainly reached the pinnacle of success as the Z represents, and as Wheels magazine says, “The collaboration between Toyota and Subaru left the competition behind and drove – with just a dab of oppo – onto the Wheels COTY podium.”