The standard Subaru BRZ is pretty handy around a track already, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t be improved.
Rather than improving it from the factory though, Subaru has decided the best thing to do is make it easier for mechanically-minded buyers to do it themselves.
The BRZ Cup Car Basic is aimed at people keen to compete in the aptly-named 86/BRZ Cup, but they’ll be sold through the Japanese dealer network. Sales are expected to be very limited – Subaru expects to sell just 30 per year.
The steel wheels are designed to be replaced by lighter track wheels and stickier rubber, while the interior is home to a roll cage and mounting points for a six-point racing harness on the driver’s side. The curtain airbags have been nixed, too.
Subaru has also fitted an additional engine oil cooler, and fins designed to direct more air to the rear differential, to keep the BRZ at its best when you’re flogging it on the track.
Power still comes from a 2.4-litre boxer engine with 174kW of power and 249Nm of torque, sent to the rear wheels through a six-speed manual transmission.
It’s priced at the equivalent of $40,000 in Japan, or $1000 more than the base BRZ coupe in Australia.
Don’t hold your breath for the Cup Car Basic to make it Down Under.
Having sold its first allocation of 500 cars, Subaru Australia will reopen order books for the fully-specced model before the end of the first quarter. The next batch of cars are scheduled to arrive in Australia before the middle of 2022.
It’s not clear how many cars will be available in the next allocation. Subaru says it’s currently working “very closely with the factory” in Japan to finalise the details.
MORE: Everything Subaru BRZ
