Those with an obsessive knowledge of JDM specials, or memories that go back a very long way, might remember the Toyota GT86 RC and Subaru BRZ RA. The idea of them was simple: both coupes were set to be a tuner's dream, so these editions were sold to buyers with less standard equipment (for less money), with the idea that they would spend the saved cash on aftermarket goodies. If you know you're ditching the wheels for bronze TE37s, having a BRZ arrive on steelies with a discount is more important than factory alloys.
With a new generation of '86 and BRZ have come new stripped-out specials. A Toyota GR86 was shown at the end of last year, and now we have the Subaru - a BRZ Cup Car Basic, no less. Even more serious than the old RA and RC, this Cup Car is designed for competition. Specifically, it's designed for the GR86/BRZ Cup that'll kick off this year, but presumably there's little to stop a buyer making a mega track car project of a BRZ CCB.
Though mechanically standard (meaning 235hp), the Cup car comes with everything you might need to go racing chunky roll cage (including side bar), a six-point harness, an oil cooler, the removal of a lot of the interior and the deletion of airbags. Subaru says that "the specifications of various equipment are optimally set as a base vehicle for racing." So presumably this car is a set of wheels and tyres, plus a livery, away from eligibility.
Subaru plans to make 30 Cups a year for the Japanese market, an amount that'll surely be snapped up soon enough. Not least with a £21,350 asking price (3,338,500 yen). For a Subaru race car with STI bits? Bargain. It gets better, too, as the GR86/BRZ Cup includes Fuji, Suzuka and Okayama in the five-round 2022 season. So that's one-make racing with a grid full of great sports cars, on iconic circuits, with the race car itself available for a little more than £20k. Might be quite a popular year for the GR86/BRZ Cup...
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