Subaru will launch a new BRZ - one on a rear-drive platform co-developed with the Toyota 86 - with the brand at last confirming a second-generation future for the Japanese performance car.
While some reports had questioned whether the co-developed coupe would live on, the brand's American executives confirmed that a second-generation BRZ was a done deal.
"We are working on it. There’s no timeline yet but we’re working on it," says Subaru of America president and CEO, Thomas J Doll. "But there will be a second-generation BRZ."
Asked whether a new BRZ could be taken in-house, perhaps built on the the brand's Subaru Global Platform (SGP) architecture, Doll confirmed the new model would instead remain rear-wheel drive, and that the new model would this time be built on a Toyota platform.
"It's a very flexible platform, but we make all-wheel drive vehicles," he said. "That's our forte, all-wheel drive."
The new follows earlier reports, from Toyota America, that the 86 would live on, even if the company did stop short of confirming a new-generation model.
"As Akio Toyoda said at the reveal of the 2020 Supra, Toyota is committed to building exciting vehicles, including sports cars. The 86 has been in the Toyota family since 2013 and the plan is that it will continue to be a part of Toyota’s sports car line-up," one spokesperson told US outlet Motor1.
Would you be in the queue for a new BRZ or 86? Or has their moment passed? Tell us in the comments below.
Andrew Chesterton
Contributing Journalist
Andrew Chesterton should probably hate cars. From his hail-damaged Camira that looked like it had spent a hard life parked at the end of Tiger Woods' personal driving range, to the Nissan Pulsar Reebok that shook like it was possessed by a particularly mean-spirited demon every time he dared push past 40km/h, his personal car history isn't exactly littered with gold.
But that seemingly endless procession of rust-savaged hate machines taught him something even more important; that cars are more than a collection of nuts, bolts and petrol. They're your ticket to freedom, a way to unlock incredible experiences, rolling invitations to incredible adventures. They have soul.
And so, somehow, the car bug still bit. And it bit hard.
When "Chesto" started his journalism career with News Ltd's Sunday and Daily Telegraph newspapers, he covered just about everything, from business to real estate, courts to crime, before settling into state political reporting at NSW Parliament House.
But the automotive world's siren song soon sounded again, and he begged anyone who would listen for the opportunity to write about cars. Eventually they listened, and his career since has seen him filing car news, reviews and features for TopGear, Wheels, Motor and, of course, CarsGuide, as well as many, many others.
More than a decade later, and the car bug is yet to relinquish its toothy grip. And if you ask Chesto, he thinks it never will.
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