The Subaru BRZ STI Is Real And Disappointing

Enthusiasts have been waiting for Subaru to make a BRZ STI Sport, and it’s finally happened. The automaker revealed this new version of the rear-wheel-drive coupe in Tokyo. But there are two big problems with it.

First: it’s only for the Japanese domestic market. Before you start cussing up a storm, read on.

Second: it uses the same naturally-aspirated four-cylinder as the other BRZs. Yep, that’s right, no turbo. And yet it’s still called an STI. Really, that’s an insult to everyone, only surpassed by the Mitsubishi e-Evolution Concept.

Subaru is calling the BRZ STI Sport the “highest grade” of the car. Does the “Sport” in the name connote an insult, like when a superhero calls a weak little kid “sport” right before he flies off to save the world yet again? It kind of feels like that’s what Subaru is doing to everyone who cares that the BRZ is screaming to be turbocharged.

Sure, you can void your warranty and strap a huge snail to your very own BRZ. It’s a great idea, and I wouldn’t tell anyone not to do it. But still, Subaru can and should do that very thing, unless Toyota has them in a legal bind that doesn’t allow such a thing. I’m beginning to hatch my own conspiracy theories.