Subaru performance arm has worked its magic on the BRZ sports car – but there's still no turbo...

It’s the hottest BRZ we’ve seen yet. Subaru’s motorsports and tuning arm, STI (Subaru Tecnica International) has tweaked last year’s limited edition BRZ tS (only 500 were built) to create the BRZ tS STI, taking the rear-wheel-drive coupe’s handling to the next level.

That’s right. We said handling. STI has no intention of boosting performance with this model.

“That’s not what this car is about. We feel this car has enough power.” said a company spokesperson. “It’s all about elevating the car’s already great cornering capability. That’s what drivers want, an ultimate connection with the road. And our job is to develop parts that reach this goal.”

Unveiled at the recent Osaka Auto Messe tuning show, the tS STI employs the same 147kW 2.0 litre boxer engine and 6-speed manual gearbox as the BRZ tS but gets specially fitted inverted Bilstein dampers, drilled rotors added to the already fitted four-piston Brembo brakes and a “flexible V-bar” which is STI’s way of saying a flexible strut tower brace.

To differentiate it from the previous tS, STI has added a bespoke aerokit sprayed in an original ‘sunrise yellow’ paint boasting front lip spoiler, unique sports muffler, a boot spoiler, a rear defuser as well as tS and STI colour-coded badging.

Inside, the tS STI incorporates unique seats specially built for tS by Recaro as well as bespoke instrumentation. The new spec model is also shod with specially designed STI wheels and 18-inch Michelin PSS tyres.

STI was not giving exact numbers but did say it expects to put a limited number of tS STIs – although the name might change – on sale in Japan by the middle of this year for around four million yen (A$42,500).

Images: Courtesy STI