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Refreshed Toyota 86/Subaru BRZ spied running around the Nurburgring

The Toyota 86 and Subaru BRZ are officially confirmed for a second generation, but it looks like this current car will not go softly into the night. One of our spy photographers just caught a camo’d up BRZ/86 pounding around the Nurburgring with a few changes in store. This tester only has camouflage on the front and rear of the car, indicating a light refresh is the extent of the styling changes. In examining the car as a whole, itÂ’s a rather conflicting tester. Both the grille and headlights tell us itÂ’s an 86, but the badge on the rear clearly says “BRZ.”  The Toyota 86 has a different grille than the BRZ, and we can see that style grille flanked by some massaged vents on both sides. Toyota uses a different style of headlight for the 86, and these look similar to those used in the current car. New front-design features are covered up by the camouflage, but the sheet metal doesnÂ’t appear to be changing. Another area of potential change is at the rear of the car. More camouflage on the trunk lid covers the obvious BRZ badge and the taillights. We donÂ’t see much in the way of differences between the taillights on this model and the current BRZ/86 twins, but the manufacturer obviously wants to keep something secret back there. What weÂ’re most excited about is seeing the extra vent behind the front wheels. Current BRZ and 86 trims donÂ’t feature such intense cooling additions. Above it sits what appears to be a badge or protrusion of some sort. The window-level badging is still visible under the wrapping, but the tire-level badge is a new one — itÂ’s similar to the design we see on the WRX and WRX STI.  All things considered, this one is a little confusing. Subaru could be adopting a more Toyota 86-esque design, but we suspect a special edition is in the works. Hopefully it involves more than just design tweaks, and gives this model a hearty send-off before the new generation arrives.

2015 Subaru BRZ tS First Drive [w/video]

The Subaru BRZ is a brilliant driver's car: lightweight, rear-wheel-drive, tactile, nimble and fluid at speed. In terms of qualities that allow for dazzling point-to-point performance, it lacks only power and intense mechanical grip. In the US, options for tuning the BRZ to amplify its strengths or diminish its weaknesses are mostly found in the aftermarket. In Japan, meanwhile, driving enthusiasts can start with the factory-tuned model you see above: the BRZ tS. Designed and built with the engineering prowess of Subaru Tecnica International, the limited-edition tS is tuned for track competence over and above that of the base model. The intent of the tS wasn't lost on me as I stared over the front fender towards Turn 1 at Japan's Suzuka Circuit. Not just a proper place to test STI's claims of increased handling brilliance for its BRZ tune, but a perfect one. Suzuka is challenging – fast and technical in equal measure – and a playground for sorting out the margin of improvement from the standard that BRZ I know so well. Wait, Why Am I Here? Of course, Subaru didn't invite me and a half-dozen other motoring journalists to Japan for an academic exercise in JDM hotness. We were there at the behest of STI, as a first step in what will undoubtedly be a deliciously drawn-out expansion of the performance brand in North America. STI started life as the motorsports division for Subaru-parent Fuji Heavy Industries. But chances are good that you, like me, first encountered the three-letter-logo as a Cherry Blossom Red punctuation mark at the end of a WRX road or rally car. The world came to know STI through Subaru's 1990s WRC dominance and prominence in the Gran Turismo franchise. But outside of Japan the significance of the initials was known more as the designation of the top-dog Impreza, rather than a motorsport and performance engineering unit. The company is set on changing that and building STI into a performance brand that's as easily recognizable in America as M and AMG are today. That message was delivered a body in the STI Concept car at the New York Auto Show earlier this week, but as I mentioned then, we don't expect Subaru to turn up with a production-ready BRZ STI next year. First STI will deploy its parts catalog to the US, removing the half-hearted Subaru Performance Tuning parts business in the process. Next, according to a vague timeline presented in Japan, Subaru will offer a car like the tS to US customers in approximately 18 months.

2020 Subaru Legacy XT Drivers' Notes | It's what's inside that counts

The 2020 Subaru Legacy is completely new in all of the places that can’t be seen. Subaru transitioned the redesigned sedan onto its Subaru Global Platform and gave it an entirely new interior, but the drab sheetmetal hardly looks changed from the previous generation. ThereÂ’s a new 2.4-liter turbocharged flat-four thrashing away under the hood, replacing the flat-six as the upgrade engine for the Legacy. The boosted XT version of the sedan is the one that we spent a week driving. In this configuration, the Legacy offers 260 horsepower and 277 pound-feet of torque, routing it through a continuously variable transmission. Subaru claims the trip to 60 mph takes just 6.1 seconds. Of course, all-wheel drive is standard. This feature would have made the Legacy unique in this segment a short time ago, but the Nissan Altima is now available with all-wheel drive, and the Camry will soon be offered with it as well. Our Touring XT was the most expensive Legacy that money can buy at $36,795. Being the highest trim, it presents well inside with tan and black high quality leather all over the place. Subaru is finally starting to put together some great interiors, and it shows. A whole list of luxury and tech features sweeten the deal even more for the Legacy. Additions like the 11.6-inch infotainment system, driver-monitoring system, power sunroof, front view monitor, satin finish mirrors, heated everything and much more all add up to make a surprisingly luxurious Subaru sedan. Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder: I got to take this home while there was still a lot of snow packed on neighborhood roads, and boy was that a treat. Like the Outback, this Legacy feels great on soft or slippery roads. ItÂ’s fantastically easy to get this to start drifting oh so gently, and then to maintain and control that slide with zero fear of it getting too hairy. Repeatable, manageable, fun. ItÂ’s officially Subaru season. On the cleared (but often pock-marked) roads, the Legacy is a comfortable cruiser without being too soft. It provides a good feel of the road, but is never anywhere close to punishing. Combined with all-wheel drive and slightly artificial-feeling but otherwise precise, easy and confidence-inspiring steering, this is pleasant — and sometimes even fun — to drive regardless of the road conditions. Assistant Editor, Zac Palmer: Subaru stepped up its tech game in the 2020 Legacy with a massive 11.6-inch touchscreen.