Flat strap THE REBOOT

SECOND-GENERATION SPORTS COUPE WITH THE BOXER ENGINE ARRIVES TO REMIND US THAT AFFORDABLE DRIVING THRILLS DO STILL EXIST

- ASH WESTERMAN

LIGHT RAIN HAS been falling steadily over Sydney Motorsport Park for the launch of the new 2022 Subaru BRZ, so I figure it may be pertinent not to attack the South Circuit like a tubby kid at a confectionary buffet. Still, I’m a bit startled by how relative caution and a modest entry speed bring a big oversteer moment through the fast downhill left-hander flanking Corporate Hill.

The quick steering and innate chassis feedback make tidying things up pretty straightforward, so I mash the throttle for the exit down to the tight left. The flat-four whirrs and thrums, but beyond 6000rpm the power is tailing off and the tacho needle is in no rush to look the limiter in the eye at 7200rpm.

Doesn’t sound like an especially auspicious opening lap for one of the most hotly anticipated sports coupes of 2022, does it?

Well, you can relax, because I actually started the day in the original BRZ, complete with low-grip 17-inch Michelin Primacy 3 tyres and its 2.0-litre flat-four pushing out 147kW and 205Nm. Yes, Subaru Australia took the uncommon step of bringing a couple of original-generation cars to the Australian launch of the new model, and let’s just say the back-to-back experience was enlightening.

When the original car was co-developed with Toyota, engineers agreed that the best way for drivers to exploit the chassis balance via the modest outputs of the flat-four was to fit eco-biased rubber with early and benign breakaway characteristics.

And while the overall greatness of the BRZ and 86 twins was sufficient for the pair to take Wheels Car of the Year victory in 2012, the judges never shied away from the fact the beautifully balanced chassis was not a ripper gripper, nor the fact that the 2.0-litre engine, while smooth and reasonably flexible, lacked a dash of top-end sparkle.