Subaru's opening its kimono at the LA auto show today, revealing the Subaru BRZ concept STI for the first time. That's the concept car on which the company's oft-mentioned "Subieyota" BRZ rear-wheel-drive compact sports car will be based.
We can already recite most of the details by rote: The joint-project between Subaru and Toyota Motor will be powered by Subaru's horizontally-opposed "boxer" engine — a 2.0-liter four developed exclusively for the BRZ, with Toyota's direct-injection tech — will have a low center of gravity and weigh under 3,000 pounds (not official yet).
The concept car has been fitted to reflect the STI's visual imprint: 18-inch alloys, hexagonal lower grille, hawk-eye headlights, lower front spoiler and rear wing, telltale rear fender flares, large rear diffuser, and twin dual tailpipes.
The concept also has a carbon-fiber roof like the latest WRX STI, along with a new version of the STI's "WR Blue Pearl" paint.
Subaru also says the BRZ STI's engine sits 120 mm (4.72 inches) lower than those of other Subaru models, and 240 mm (9.45 inches) closer to the center of the chassis. Thus the ultra-low center of gravity.
The production-model BRZ (which actually looks like this) along with its Toyota counterpart (which we'll get as the Scion FR-S), will debut at the Tokyo motor show on November 30. By then we'll know more about the companies' launch plans, and we'll have our own Ocean's 13-style caper in play to snatch up one of each.