They say that the Subaru BRZ / Toyota 86 is a car that gives form to the pure, intrinsic, joy of driving through precise throttle and steering responses with minimal electronic intrusion. They say the simple, no nonsense sports car represents true purity for those who regard driving as a passion rather than a necessity.
That may very well be the case, but a lot of people just think the BRZ / 86 is just a little underpowered. That’s because the compact, Subaru, D-4S boxer engine under its bonnet only develops 147 kW and maximum torque of 205 Nm. The BRZ / 86 therefore take a reliable 7.0 seconds to get to 100 km/h before touching its top speed of 220 km/h. The plus side is that fuel consumption and emissions will be good at least. The BRZ / 86 has a fuel consumption rated at a claimed and combined rate of 6.9 L/100 km, with CO2 emissions of 160 g/km.
But boys will be boys, as they say in the classics, and the guys from Weapons Grade Performance (WGP) had another idea on how to improve the performance of the Subaru BRZ. Extracting 300 kW from the 2.0-litre would not be possible, so WGP chose to replace the whole darn thing. They ripped the boxer unit out and in its place, fitted a 6.0-litre LS2 V8 engine they got from a Pontiac GTO (equivalent Chevrolet Lumina SS to us in South Africa).
The car hasn’t been tested yet, but those with any sense will appreciate that while the soundtrack and the straight line performance will be greatly improved, the new V8 engine will be very heavy underneath that low BRZ bonnet, which might mess with the natural balance of the car. What amazes us even more is how WGP were even able to fit the engine in the first place. Don’t forget that Subaru recently said that the BRZ STI version wouldn’t be turbocharged because there wasn’t enough space for the intercooler in the engine bay. Really? We guess WGP have scuppered that notion.
