The 2015 Subaru BRZ has made its dealer launch and Subaru won’t be terminating the sports car. What makes it so hot?
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The 2015 Subaru BRZ has been launched and the two-door sports coupe co-developed by Subaru and Toyota is around to stay. What makes the rear-drive sports car so appealing to driving enthusiasts? There are four track-proven reasons why its one of the best sports cars on the planet. It was produced jointly by Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd, the parent company of Subaru, and Toyota who owns a 16.5 percent stake in the Japanese automaker.
The BRZ/GT86/FR-S partnership has proven to be a successful and one that will continue on. Here’s a few reasons why the Subaru BRZ won’t be going away anytime soon. It’s an affordable sports car that most sports car enthusiasts can afford. BRZ is high on the fun-to-drive meter and is a driver’s sports car that can be driven on the street during the week or taken to the track on the weekends. BRZ is being raced in Japan in the SUPER GT and All Japan Rally Championship with good success.
Responsive handling
The 2015 Subaru BRZ is tuned and designed to offer responsive and agile handling. BRZ has a very low center of gravity and the boxer engine sits low and towards the rear of the chassis. The rear-drive coupe has one of the lowest centers of gravity of any production car in the world at just 18.1 inches. This produces an agile sports car that can be thrown around the track and it will stay planted in the corners. The driver’s car also features a lightweight MacPherson strut suspension in front and double-wishbone suspension in the rear.
200 horsepower doesn’t sound like much
Subaru BRZ defies critics who think it needs 275 hp to be a true performance car. But the coupe is lightweight and weighs in at just 2762 lbs. Subaru uses a high-tensile steel throughout the cars body and chassis in order to keep it light. They also use an aluminum hood to reduce weight. The Subaru BRZ is also very compact, at just 167 inches long on a 101 inch wheelbase. This is another factor that contributes to BRZ's great handling characteristics. The 200 hp boxer has plenty of power to make this an excellent performing sports car. It comes mated to a close-ratio 6-speed manual or automatic with steering wheel paddle shifters.
Quick-ratio steering
BRZ comes with quick-ratio steering at 13.1:1 that makes the sports coupe responsive to the slightest touch of the wheel. This is a hallmark of great driving cars and Subaru engineers gave the coupe a great feel on the track. The BRZ was tested against contenders like the Porsche 911 Carrera, Audi RS5, BMW M135i, Ford Focus ST, Toyota GT 86, and Renault Megane RS265 by TopGear Australia and came out on top.
BRZ drives like much more expensive sports cars
BRZ can be pushed hard in the corners and has an impressive 0.94 Gs of cornering capability. The sports car also comes with four-wheel ventilated disc brakes with measured stopping distances from 60 mph of less than 120 feet. That is as good as some of the most expensive sports cars on the planet and even beats many of them. The standard limited-slip differential reduces wheel spin and improves traction and also contributes to BRZ’s agility factor.
When Toyota and Subaru set out to create a new sports car, their goal was to build an affordable two-door rear-drive coupe that the average person could afford. And they succeeded in a big way. The Subaru BRZ, Toyota GT 86, (Scion FR-S in the U.S.) have been wildly successful. The two-door rear-drive sports car isn’t going away anytime soon, and may even be a present-day “legend in the making.” The Premium 2015 Subaru BRZ starts at $25,695.
Other 2015 Subaru BRZ stories of interest.
Subaru BRZ is TopGear's Fun-est Car of the Year
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