Subaru BRZ & Toyota GR86 Gain New Sporty Variants in Japan

The Subaru BRZ-Toyota GR86 coupe twin is getting a 2024 model year (2024 MY) update in Japan, with both models now featuring a new special sporty variant each.

2024 Subaru BRZ STI Sport

Starting with the BRZ, this ‘Subie’ coupe now comes in a new sporty STI Sport variant, which is essentially a renamed version of the BRZ tS we saw in the US  earlier this year. For starters the BRZ STI Sport gets new 17-inch Brembo brakes with front and rear ventilated discs and gold-hued callipers, hiding behind the new 18-inch alloy wheels finished in dark metallic hue.

More importantly, this special BRZ now rides on a new sensitive frequency response damper (SFRD) by Hitachi Astemo at the front axle, with the marque’s performance arm Subaru Tecnica International (STI) in-charge of tuning the whole damper setup. Subaru promises this setup to garner the BRZ STI Sport with more agile and better drive dynamics than the non-STI-badged varieties.

Cosmetic touches are somewhat minor on the STI Sport variant

On the visual front, the BRZ STI Sport also gains some other sporty treatment on its exterior. This includes the new black finishing on its mirror caps and sharkfin antenna, as well as the STI emblems on both ends of the car. On board upgrades are equally subtle as the exterior, as the BRZ STI Sport comes with two-tone burgundy and black upholstery for the seats, a slew of dark metallic accents, as well as STI-badged engine start button.

Similar to the US-only BRZ tS, the coupe’s 2.4-litre 4-cyl nat-asp ‘Boxer’ engine is being kept stock, still outputting 232 HP and 250 NM to boot. Power is transmitted to the rear axle through either a six-speed manual or a six-speed automatic transmission.

Set to be premiered at the Fuji Speedway later in Sept 24, the Subaru BRZ STI Sport is now available for order in Japan at a price tag of JPY 3.762 million (RM118,942) for the manual and JPY 3.817 million (RM120,681) for the automatic – making them the heftiest spec offered to the Japan-spec BRZ coupe.

Toyota is celebrating the 40th anniversary of the legendary AE86 with this special GR86 model!

Moving on to its Toyota-badged twin, the Japan-spec GR86 is also due for a 2024 MY update this month. Unlike the Subie, however, this GR-badged coupe gets a slightly special commemorative 40th Anniversary Limited Edition guise, as Toyota is having a 40th birthday bash on one of its most iconic nameplates this year – the Toyota AE86.

Based on the Japan-spec GR86 RZ variant, the GR86 40th Anniversary edition gets mirroring spec upgrades as the US-bound GR86 Trueno Edition unveiled earlier this year. As a result, this special GR86 gets new ZF Sach suspensions, as well as beefier Brembo brakes with ventilated discs and red-hued callipers.

Similar to the BRZ STI Sport, this special edition GR86 still powers by the same 2.4-litre ‘Boxer’ engine as before, delivering 232 HP and 250 NM, mated to either a six-speed automatic or manual transmissions.

The GR86 40th Anniversary edition gets more design touch-ups of the two

Visually, the GR86 40th Anniversary is only offered in red or white exterior hues, with several parts of its exterior like the ducktail spoiler finished in crystal black silica hue, as well as the special “Since 1983 40th” commemorative decal on the lower part of its doors.. Meanwhile, its 18-inch alloy wheels are finished in dark grey metallic shade instead of the matte black hue we saw on the standard GR86s.

On board, this sporty coupe model gets more commemorative artwork, with its door cards embossed with the same special scriptures as we saw on the outside, this time in red hue. Aside from that, the GR’s signature red-and-black theme dominates the whole cabin, alongside some GR-badged equipment like the seats’ headrests, floor mats, and steering wheel.

The special Toyota GR86 40th Anniversary Limited Edition model will only be produced in 200 units exclusively for the Japanese domestic market (JDM), with each of them tagged at JPY 3.822 million (RM120,832) for the stick-shift option, and JPY 3.92 million (RM123,931) for the automatic one. Orders can be made via dedicated Toyota GR Garage network from Sept 25 to Oct 5, with the lucky 200 owners selected via a lottery.

So folks, which one of these special BRZ/GR86 models would you go for? Keen on the STI-badged Subie or this limited-edition GR86 model? As always, don’t forget to leave your thoughts in the comments down below…