Subaru teases a BRZ STi

Good news for fans of the BRZ and GT 86 – Subaru has been cooking up something special in its Subaru Tecnica Interntational (STi) kitchen and perhaps a more powerful version of the BRZ will soon be revealed.

While the standard 197bhp 2.0-litre Boxer engine feels more than adequate, the BRZ’s chassis can clearly handle more, so it looks like the task of releasing its potential has landed at STi’s doorstep. Of course, the Boxer engine is a Subaru design, and STi have plenty of experience extracting huge amounts of power as demonstrated by the numerous Impreza variants.

Toyota meanwhile continue to deny they’ll offer a more powerful GT 86, and recently confirmed they will ‘not’ produce the FT-86 Open Concept (the convertible bodied GT 86), so if you’re looking for more, the Toyobaru balance looks to have swung in Subaru’s favour, although don’t forget the TRD (Toyota Racing Developments) body upgrades already available for the GT 86.

For the time being, there are no details of what a BRZ STi would look like or comprise, merely a carousel promo on STi’s website with the inevitable ‘Coming Soon’ message.

Of course, this might not bode for a more powerful BRZ, STi are also past masters at fettling the chassis of numerous sporting Subarus, so ‘Purity of Handling’ might mean just that..

The 65th Frankfurt Motor Show is coming up next month, where the Subaru WRX concept will make its European debut. It will be joined by the Subaru VIZIV concept, representing Subaru’s future design and technical direction, but I’m sure there’s room on the stand for the BRZ STi.

Look out for more news in the coming weeks.