Subaru to Show Production BRZ, Next-Gen Hybrid Concept

2011 Tokyo Motor Show

TOKYO -- Subaru will introduce the production version of its BRZ rear-wheel-drive sporty car as well as an updated vision for its hybrid due in 2013 at this month's Tokyo Motor Show.

Subaru released only a headlamp teaser shot of the closely guarded BRZ -- a project developed jointly with Toyota Motor Corp. It shows Subaru's typical hexagonal grille.

But the Japanese also surrendered new specs. The car is scheduled to go on sale in Japan in the spring and then head to North America, which Subaru expects to be the model's biggest market.

The BRZ will get a new, 2.0-liter, four-cylinder horizontally opposed engine.

It will be based on the company's third-generation FB engine that appeared last fall, but it will have cylinders with wider and shorter bores to provide more power. It will also be the first Subaru equipped with direct fuel injection, a system borrowed from Toyota.

The engine will be teamed with either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission. And the car will get a double wishbone rear suspension.

Other specs: Overall length of 4,240 inches, width of 70 inches and height of 51 inches. The BRZ will ride on a wheel base of 101 inches.)

Also making its world debut in Tokyo will be the Advanced Tourer Concept, Subaru's latest vision for its first hybrid vehicle, a car expected in 2013 and also based on Toyota technology.

This car takes Subaru in a new direction.

It gets a downsized 1.6-liter, turbo-charged, direct-injection engine teamed with a hybrid electric motor system and Subaru's latest continuously variable transmission. It will also be fitted with regenerative braking from all four wheels that can recharge the vehicle's lithium ion battery.

Subaru wants the technology to provide a 50 percent increase in fuel efficiency compared with current models. And keeping with Subaru's image for rugged rides, it will also be all-wheel drive.

The Tourer is envisioned as running in electric-only AWD mode, but the company didn't give a driving range. The concept puts flesh on Subaru's plan to enter the hybrid market.

Press days for the Tokyo Motor Show are Nov. 30 to Dec. 1.

Courtesy of Autonews.com