New Subaru BRZ Cup Car Basic launched for Japanese market
Basic specification Subaru BRZ is designed for customers who want to go racing, but it won’t come to the UK
Subaru has launched a stripped-out, track ready version of the BRZ called the Cup Car Basic, designed to compete in the one-make Toyota Gazoo Racing GR86/BRZ racing series which will kick off in Japan later this year.
Inside, every version of the Subaru BRZ Cup Car Basic comes with a six-point roll cage and mounts for a racing harness pre-installed. Subaru has also removed the sports car’s side curtain airbags. The cosmetic changes are rounded off by a set of steel wheels in place of the standard BRZ’s alloys.
Subaru has also made a couple of modifications to the car’s running gear, to improve the longevity of the powertrain under punishing track conditions. Now, there’s a new engine oil cooler up front and a new ‘finned’ differential case at the rear.
Other than the cooling mods, though, the engine hasn’t changed over the standard BRZ. It’s the same 2.4-litre flat-four petrol engine, which has an identical output of 228bhp and 249Nm of torque. It’s also mated to the same six-speed manual gearbox.
Subaru hasn’t confirmed any performance figures for the BRZ Cup Car Basic, but we expect it’ll be broadly the same as the conventional model. That means it should get from 0–62mph in 6.3 seconds before reaching a top speed of 140mph.
Subaru won’t be bringing the next BRZ to the UK and as such, there’s no chance that the Cup Car version will arrive here either. However, its sister model - Toyota’s new GR86 - will arrive later this year.
Now click here to read about a Subaru you will be able to buy in the UK – the updated Forester e-Boxer…
