SPY PICS: Subaru BRZ STI

Subaru appears to be almost ready to release a sharper, STI-badged version of its Toyota 86 twin, the rear-drive BRZ coupe, if these fresh spy pics are any indication.

Caught testing in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the lightly camouflaged pre-production BRZ STI you see here looks almost identical to the Subaru BRZ STI Sport Concept revealed at the Tokyo Auto Salon in January.

As with the concept, the car pictured here wears a more aggressive front bumper with larger air intakes, chunkier side skirts, a huge rear wing, larger black multi-spoke alloy wheels and red Brembo brake callipers.

Also like the concept, however, the production version is not expected to bring the WRX STI sedan’s 221kW/407 2.5-litre turbocharged boxer engine, instead sticking with the standard BRZ’s 152kW/212Nm 2.0-litre unit.

In line with the upgraded 86, that’s up from 147kW/205Nm as part of an MY17 facelift that also brought suspension and cabin upgrades, cheaper pricing for which was announced last October.

Inside, if the concept is an accurate guide, the STI-fettled BRZ will bring burgundy-coloured sport seats and a range of other cosmetic tweaks.

Apart from the lack of a turbo engine, which would make it a genuine BRZ STI, the bad news is there’s no guarantee of a release outside the US, where a ‘tuned by STI’ BRZ has been confirmed for sale this year.

Subaru Australia says it has no information on an STI-tuned BRZ production model, despite the fact this country is one of the most important markets in the world for the Japanese car-maker’s performance sub-brand.