Not so fast: Subaru says there will be a second-generation BRZ

By Ronan Glon July 8, 2014

Last month, we reported that the Subaru BRZ was headed for an early demise because the partnership between Subaru and Toyota was on thin ice. At the time, reports circulating around the auto industry indicated Toyota was planning on developing the next Scion FR-S with partner BMW, leaving Subaru out of the equation entirely.

While Toyota did not comment on the report, Subaru has just spoken up and announced a second-generation BRZ is part of its product plan for the next few years.

“If I were to be told that [the BRZ would be phased out without a successor] I’d pass out. It’s not going to be just one generation,” affirmed Yasuyuki Yoshinaga, the president of Subaru parent company Fuji Heavy Industries, in an interview with trade journal Automotive News.

Concrete details about the second-generation BRZ are not available because the car’s debut is still several years away, but Yoshinaga confirmed the coupe will again be jointly-developed by Toyota and Subaru. The BRZ is a low-volume model for both automakers and Subaru admits it could not make a favorable business case for the coupe if it had to develop it on its own.

Subaru and Toyota will introduce updated variants of their respective coupes in 2015. The mid-cycle refresh will include the expected visual updates but it might also bring the power boost that enthusiasts have been clamoring for since both cars debuted back in 2012.

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Ronan Glon is an American automotive and tech journalist based in southern France. As a long-time contributor to Digital…

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