Ever wanted an STI-tuned BRZ? Well, sadly, the Subaru BRZ tS isn’t one of those, but it might be as close as we’ll ever get.
The old Toyota GT 86 / Subaru BRZ twins are currently some of the best sports cars you’ll find on the used market. Built to last, they’re relatively affordable and have a great deal of modifying and tuning potential. So, we were delighted when the Japanese marques revealed a new generation of the platform a year or two ago. First impressions of the new batch were good – the core ingredients that made the old cars so loveable remain, yet an extra dash of spice has been sprinkled under the hood. Overall, that leaves you with a very tasty recipe indeed.
However, while the base car is undeniably great, there’s always been a little voice in enthusiasts’ heads which says, “What if there was a BRZ STI? How good would that be?!”
Well, Subaru seems reluctant to commission that project from its in-house tuning division, but what it has done instead is give us a bit of a sneak preview in the form of the Subaru BRZ tS. Let’s take a closer look at what the new range-topper offers…
Subaru BRZ tS Handling Mods
First things first, there aren’t any power gains to be found here. The BRZ tS retains the same 2.4-liter N/A boxer engine that you’ll find under the hood of the regular car, but honestly that’s not the worst news in the world. These little coupes are meant to be thrown about for fun, and you don’t really need more than 228hp to achieve that. Besides, if you do want more power from the FA24, the aftermarket is your friend.
Instead, Subaru Tecnica International has focused their attentions on the way the car handles. Out of the box, this was already one of the BRZ’s strong suits, so there hasn’t been a vast swathe of changes. What they’ve done is sourced some new dampers from Hitachi, and then tuned them for optimal performance in the BRZ.
Elsewhere, the Subaru BRZ tS comes equipped with a new upgraded braking system. Supplied by Brembo, it features larger pads and rotors, as well as gold-painted 4-piston calipers at the front, and 2-piston calipers at the rear. The brake and hub assembly is housed within a set of 18-inch rims, shrouded in 215/40 R18 Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tires. While these key changes may seem relatively minor, they’re the sort of mods that will be very noticeable on, say, a touge run…
Styling Mods
Subaru has made some slight alterations to the visual aspects of the car too, to mark it out as a tS. Naturally, there are a few new badges to indicate that, and you get a Black Silica finish on the mirrors and shark fin aerial. Inside, the blue upholstery stitching is a tS-only feature, as is the instrument gauges’ new red hue.
How much does the Subaru BRZ tS cost?
Subaru has now revealed the updated pricing details for the BRZ line-up in 2024 and includes the option for the tS trim. Prices for the Premium base model starts at $31,315, while the Limited trim starts at $33,815. The tS trim starts at $36,465, which makes it $2650 more than the Limited and $5150 more than the Premium.
Prefer your sporty special-edition coupes to have more of a… Toyota flavor? Try the Toyota GR 86 Trueno Edition instead.
