Next Gen FT-86/BRZ Will Have New More Powerful Engine

so what are we talking about, 230hp, lmao.

If you read it currently is 205hp. 20% bigger would give 245+, but torque may be the focus.

It needs at least 300 horsepower and some competent chassis tuning.

@MD - Correct. But that would require the engine from the Subaru WRX STI. I don't see that happening. I would guess it will end up with 230hp-250hp at the most.

Any one of several engines could go into the next GT86...among them TOYOTA engines. There is absolutely no reason to hold onto the Subaru engine and the Impreza-derived chassis of the GT86.

Anyone who has driven the GT86 at its limit--and I have--will tell you that on one hand it wants to slide at the hint of a curve. And while that feels exciting, it makes cornering slow.

Some have doctored their GT86s for better handling and THAT's when it becomes clear that the chassis could easily handle 300 horsepower.

I honestly think that the GT86's handling is dumbed down to mask the lack of power i.e. it feels sporty, but it's not fast.

I dispensed with two GT86s in my rental fleet Mustang base V6 because the latter has superior handling and performance.

First of all the handling is dumbed down because the Michelin Primacy tires it uses from the Toyota Prius. They were chosen because of lack of engine power and torque. Just putting decent tires on the 86/BRZ chassis and the car will pull just about 1 G in steady state cornering. The reason I believe that the BRZ/86 replacement is not going to have 300 plus horsepower is that it would start competing with the new Supra. The in line six from BMW in the Supra is supposed to make 330HP. It is my belief that Toyota will also offer the in line four from the BMW 3 series at 240 HP. Toyota would then be able to offer that car at perhaps a 35 grand starting price. However I think Toyota and Subaru want to keep the price point on the 86/BRZ in the 25 to 30 grand range. Offering even a 2.0 turbo could also compete too much with the Supra. So my theory is that they are going to tweek the existing chassis. Then they will take the 2.4 from the new Subaru Accent Suv sans turbo. The 2.4 in turbo guise is simply a bored out version of the 2.0 in the WRX. It makes something like 265HP in the SUV. Subaru may replace this with old 2.5 in the STI in a more tuned state. However just like the current 2.0 in N/A form is the same engine as in the WRX, Subaru will simply delete the turbo and add (as with the 2.0) direct and port injection again to this larger engine. The 2.4 probably will not take up any more space in the engine bay nor will it weigh any more. It will be mounted lower resulting in a lower center of gravity. Most important I predict a significant increase in torque at a lower RPM. Horsepower will improve to say 220 at say 5500 RPM. More important the engine will probably make 185 to 190 LBS of torque at 4000 RPM. That would be a significant improvement over the current 2.0 NA engine. In a car that weighs the same that's going to significantly improve acceleration times. I think you could be looking at mid to high fives 0-60. For a 25-30K price range that's not too bad. Bare in mind these cars are reasonably equipped for the price. I'm guessing with a lower center of gravity and a slightly wider track the replacement cars will out handle and out corner the current models and have better acceleration for a similar price. It would be nice if they went with unequal length headers. That would give it a nice rumble. Also there would be a lower red line at say 6300 RPM. Its a cheaper solution to a turbo. You don't have to deal with the heat build up from a much smaller engine bay and a sloping hood. Remember a WRX has much much more room in its engine bay than does a BRZ/86. From an engine longevity point of view a NA engine makes more sense in this case and at this price point.

The Supra should START at 300 horsepower and have a 500 horsepower option.

That is something that could happen later down the road. Again even the Supra has to sell in a price point below the BMW Z5. Perhaps the price spread on the Supra will be between 35 to 50K. That puts it in direct competition with Mustang and Camaro. To me that explains why the BRZ/86 has to remain in the 25-30K range. Putting the 2.4 in the revised car is probably the most cost efficient way to do this to get the extra power and torque that this car so badly needs.