Performance BRZ And FR-S Could Be Finally Coming

Subaru STI Performance Concept (Credit: Subaru)

Ever since the Subaru BRZ and Scion FR-S were released, enthusiasts have been waiting for Toyota and Subaru to release some hardcore performance version of the two cars. Now, the wait might finally be over.

AutoGuide recently uncovered that the two automakers received an approval from the Japanese patent office for documents that seem to show a Subaru BRZ STI. The vehicle from those documents looks eerily similar to the Subaru STI Performance Concept that was revealed to much praise at the 2015 New York Auto Show.

Be warned, that doesn’t mean the wait is over, because nothing is set in stone right now. And this isn’t exactly the first time that the two companies have kicked around the idea of juicing up the FR-S and BRZ, so some enthusiasts are understandably skeptical that it will ever happen.

The reality is that automakers file patents all the time and then do nothing with them. It could be that the corporate bean counters conclude that building certain models is a bad investment, changes in the market make executives skittish, or that they’re simply filing paperwork to throw the competition off.

Even if Subaru and Toyota go ahead with a high-performance turbocharged version of the coupes, there’s no guarantee they’ll be made available outside of the Japanese domestic market. After all, lust worthy JDM models are a thing that any fan of Toyota, Subaru, Nissan, Honda, etc. have grown used to.

It’s already come to light that Toyota and Subaru are working on creating a next-gen version of the coupes. While it might be too late to redeem the first generation with some hopped-up models, in a few years there could be a BRZ with a ridiculously high rear wing and a hood scoop large enough to accommodate several rodent families. Such news would make many people happy, and hopefully lead to a solid uptick in sales.