Did Subaru Make A MISTAKE By NOT Building A BRZ STI?

Subaru has an amazing base from which to build a strong dynamic company in BMW's image at a lower price point. It has the potential to broadly appeal to enthusiasts and utilitarian buyers. It only needs three things...a stronger commitment to the STi performance brand, better designs and styling, and a broader product line. The culture, FWD heritage, reliability, boxer engine and engineering provide an enviable platform to propel the company to greatness with the proper strategic leadership.

Not having an STI version of the BRZ is an epic blunder. The car needs another 100 hp to be taken seriously i n uprated form. It also needs attention to chassis tuning. It is extremely tail happy and it's simply NOT fast around a track. It will drift through every corner and while drifting is fun, it is NOT the fastest way through a corner. A live-axle Mustang V6 is faster around a track and I can only imagine what the leap the 2015 will be. The Genesis coupe is a better choice (and better mannered at the track) is you want a "GT" but don't want a muscle car. And yes I have driven all three at the track and quite frankly the FRS/BRZ just isn't worth the money. It really is too bad a Toyota 4 cyl turbo is not a possibility as well because that would solve the annoying oddness of the sound of the boxer engine. Of course, if your name is Bittkney or if you're a guy named Steevie and you're one of Lady Gaga Little Monsters, then this tarted up BRZ is perfect for you.

While I agree that the BRZ could use some improvements to the chassis and gear box as well, let's remember that this is a first gen car with a specific target goal - fun (defined as tail happy / tendency for oversteer), relatively low cost. It sounds like you find disappointment in the BRZ as it does not fit YOUR valued attributes.

You obviously want all of to know that you are a track whore. That's great. In that case, I would say that when it comes to a track, a Mustang or Genesis Coupe "just aren't worth the money". Compared to what? A 125cc kart. A Mustang or Genesis Coupe can't touch a senior or master kart when it comes to track performance for "the money". And, no, I am not referring to a 4 stroke World Formula kart. This is of course based on what I value as key attributes.

But of course adding hundred horsepower to the BRZ puts it's price point into the mid to upper 30's minimum. To add that kind of horsepower means a lot of re-engineering of components to handle it.
That adds up in price. To keep the price point from getting out of hand
an engine with say 230 HP N/A with say 180 LBS of torque would have transformed this car. In addition an acoustical retune of the engine characteristics would also go a long way. Getting rid of those tires from a Toyota Prius and putting decent rubber on(which anyone can do)without any chassis or suspension changes would have been the perfect coupe reincarnation of the Honda S2000. You would have a car that would comfortably hit 0-60 in the mid 5 second range, better grip and probably no more than 2 or 3 grand price increase. That still could put it under 30 grand and perfect competition for a V6 Mustang, Hyundai Genesis V6 coupe, even Subaru's base WRX etc. That's where the car needs to be. The Toyobaru twins are a good effort that is about 20% short of greatness.

Toyota should have thrown in a V6, reskinned it, upgraded the suspension and called it a Supra.

I'm going to take the counter-point position. Except for the lack of advertising, car has been intelligently marketed to people in an age group that probably can't afford a car that is a lot more expensive that what the car is now.
I don't know if this was a consideration in their decision not to do an STI but maybe. The car is perfect for the guy who wants to modify their car with hand picked upgrades. If you are one who hasn't researched it, there are so many quality parts available for these cars it's amazing. If you want the extra 100 hp that was mentioned above, no problem. There are a bunch of companies making turbos or super-chargers. If you want suspension & tire improvements, no problem, there are lots of them available. You can make this car into what you want and do it a piece at a time rather than $35k up front. We don't really need an STI. We can build one ourselves for less. I love mine. (I've had it on a road course and didn't find it to be nearly as tail happy as one of the other commentors did even with stock tires. It's well known that the Scion is more tail happy.)

This is America, we race our cars in a straight line. 200hp won't cut it.
Besides people buying $25k cars are not dropping $1k a weekend on brakes, tires, track entry and fuel racing on a road course.
This car is bubble gum and its meant for kids and their parents who will likely be footing the bill. You won't find a kid being able to convince their parents to spend the extra $5-6k for the 100hp that puts it way out of Honda civic price points.

Ummm, who elected you to speak on behalf of all of "America"? Classic and typical response from someone who thinks "good" performance driving is doing 0 to 100 in 7 seconds in a straight line, but as soon as the road turns, gets wet, or has snow and ice on it, they drive like a 97 year old grandmother.

IMO, there is NOTHING difficult about "racing" any production car (Civic or Veyron) in a straight line so what's the point?