2019 Subaru BRZ outed

Details and images of the updated 2019 Subaru BRZ have hit the data-sphere, confirming the affordable Japanese sports coupe will bring (very) subtle visual and chassis changes.

According to the translated Japanese press release, the “partially” improved 2019 Subaru BRZ gets recalibrated dampers designed to improve ride and handling, while subtle changes to the bodywork are said to smooth the airflow leaving the rear of the car.

Engine-wise, the turbocharged boxer engine everyone’s been praying for is still nowhere to be seen. Instead, the 2019 Subaru BRZ will continue to run a normally-aspirated 2.0-litre petrol boxer engine that delivers 152kW/212Nm to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox.

There’s also a six-speed automatic transmission, but outputs are reduced slightly, to 147kW/205Nm.

Subaru Australia corporate affairs manager David Rowley said timing on the updated model for Oz was not yet set in stone.

“We’ve not actually announced changes yet. I can tell you there’ll be nothing technical or mechanical. It’s more likely along the cosmetic and infotainment lines, and nothing of performance nature,” he said.

The chances of a high-output version of Toyota 86 or BRZ are not completely out of the question, however.

The next-generation Subaru BRZ — along with its twin-sibling, the Toyota 86 — could add more herbs and spices to the classic front-engine, rear-drive, lightweight sports car recipe, but both are still a way off, with 2021 the mooted launch date.

Rowley conceded that there was “no visibility from the factory as yet on the next-generation BRZ”.

The Subaru Australia PR boss stated that the Subaru has “alluded to an anticipated next-generation model,” but cautioned: “As to what form that will take we don’t know.”

Here’s hoping for a jet-propelled Subaru BRZ with a folding metal roof, VTOL capability and perhaps a time-space rift generator.