Subaru BRZ orders end in Japan, likely as next-gen car approaches
It sounds like any specific BRZ orders are out of the question now.
The totally not underpowered and quite lovely Subaru BRZ penned one of its closing chapters recently. Subaru's Japanese website now proclaims that it will no longer accept a "build-to-order" submission for the factory. In other words, you can't order a BRZ any longer.
Instead, the website says those interested will need to pick out a Subaru BRZ from dealership stock. To be clear, the announcement doesn't mention production ending, but it's likely a sign the automaker's preparing to wind things down for a hiatus, or in preparation for the next-generation BRZ. Subaru declined to comment for this story.
Since the BRZ's cousin, the Toyota 86, rolls out of the same factory in Japan, we checked in with Toyota to see if the automaker could offer up any additional details. However, a spokesperson simply told Roadshow "the plan is for 2020 production to continue through the fall" and declined to comment further on the situation. It's not clear if Toyota's still taking orders for the 86, or if the sports cars sitting at dealers right now are the last of this generation.
Thus, we can only make educated guesses as to why order books closed. However, it likely means the BRZs sitting at dealerships are some of the final units meant for production. If you want a new, current-gen BRZ, you should probably hop to it.
As for the upcoming next-gen BRZ and 86 duo, they're definitely coming. After years of speculation, both Toyota and Subaru confirmed last September that we'll see the sports cars return, but didn't offer up many specifics. Two prominent rumors emerged in the meantime. The first is both cars will stick to their Impreza-based platform modified for rear-wheel drive. The second is a possible shift to Toyota's TNGA platform, which also supports RWD. We've also heard the next sports cars might ditch their 2.0-liter boxer-four engines for a 2.4-liter engine. It's not clear if the cars will remain sans turbocharger, but even if they do, they'll likely remain lovely driving partners.
