Although we have already gotten a clear picture of the 2022 Subaru BRZToyota has been reluctant to reveal anything at all about its version of the boxer-powered, lightweight rear-wheel-drive sports coupe. Thursday, thanks again for the Australian patent office, we can at least look at the front bumper.
IP Australia has published design documents submitted by Toyota for a car’s front bumper, and it’s pretty much a dead-ringer for the next 86, which some insiders believe will be called the GR86 in the future. The design was submitted on October 30, according to the government agency, and formally registered on January 18.
The general shape of the headlights – or at least their underside – appears to be identical between the two models, so the main changes are reserved for the grille and side channels.
You could always distinguish the first-generation BRZ from the 86 from a distance based on the orientation of the grille. If the car grinned and had a mustache, you were looking at a Subaru; if he frowned or seemed a little distressed, it was the Toyota. For what it’s worth, it looks like this mental shortcut will also apply to the GR86 – except for the ‘stache part’. Neither will have a mustache this time.
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Considering that these cars have historically been virtually identical, except for their insignia, I find it interesting how some enthusiasts prefer to think of them solely as Subarus or Toyotas. At the time both originally came out, my high school and college friends usually fell into the BRZ camp, as many of them were WRX guys anyway. (Of course they were. They are almost always at that age.)
For me, the “real” ancestor of Toyobaru is the AE86 Corolla, so I see the car as a Toyota at first. Ultimately, it probably has more to do with which brand you like, and the fact that Toyota originally chose to give its version a Scion probably didn’t add to its credibility with the particular sects of the automotive community. But that is a thing of the past!
While we don’t have numbers for the GR86, expect it to match the BRZ’s 228 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque of the 2.4-liter flat-four that both cars will share. There may be slight differences in weight – the first-gen BRZ was slightly heavier than the 86 – and the new BRZ tips 2,815 pounds in the lightest trim. Both cars will enjoy a lower center of gravity and a stiffer chassis, allowing them to fly around as is known.