If you ever want to do an Initial D
and deliver bean curd, these are the very cars you need - Torque’s editor
checks them out
It’s an open secret that the Toyota 86 is
the Subaru BRZ, the BRZ is the 86, and always the twain shall meet. At this
particular meeting of the two sports coupes, their agents tried to pull the
tofu over my eyes by sending the “correct” colors - Fusion Orange for the 86
and WR Blue for the BRZ, these being their respective signature hues. The other
six paint jobs available are common to both vehicles, although there is a case
to be made for re-spraying an 86 in blue and a BRZ in orange - it’ll be
automotive irony of the highest order, but only if you can “get it”.
The
Toyota 86
What I don’t get is the meaning of “BRZ”.
It’s short for Boxer engine, Rear-wheel drive, Zenith. Fair enough, but isn’t
it a bit too close to Honda’s “CR-Z” for comfort? Maybe Subaru should have
taken the opportunity to pay tribute to its 1991-1996 flagship, the Alcyone
SVX, by naming its vehicular zenith the SXX or something.
The meaning of “86” is much clearer than
that of “BRZ”. Those two numbers are a blast-from-the-past, inspired by the
AE86, one of Toyota’s greatest hits back in the 1980s. And saying “eighty-six”
in Japanese, hachi-roku, is pure haiku - so to speak.
2013
WR Blue Pearl Subaru BRZ
I’d be quite a cuckoo if I don’t drive the
two coupes and point out the nuances of their on-road behavior. So, I drive
them, one after the other... and I’m none the wiser. Trying to tell them apart
in terms of ride, grip, steering and handling is even harder than
differentiating one Jay Chou ballad from another.
It’s much easier to spot the design
differences between the two cars, but you must know where to look - the front
bumper’s air dam and fog light array, the headlamp clusters and, of course, the
badges. Toyota went the extra mile (and spent the extra yen) to create an “86”
emblem with a stylized two-piston graphic, and put it where the A-pillar meets
the front fender. Inside the cabin, the two coupes only differ in their
badging, tachometer (white in 86 and black in BRZ), and trimmings. Their
equipment, depending on specification, is exactly the same, while the sitting
position in either cockpit is equally low and purposeful.
The
Toyota 86 - back
In summary, if the 86 is an Ah Beng with an
Ah Lian permanently attached to the passenger seat beside him, then the BRZ is
an Ah Seng seated with an Ah Huay (cue the theme song of Young &
Dangerous, starring Ekin Cheng). Now for some bean curd...
The
86 and BRZ are like Jay Chou songs - somehow, they all sound (and feel) the
same
Bean there, done that
All this "torque" about tofu made
me hungry for some bean curd, so I flew to Old Airport Road in the 86 (or was
it the BRZ?) for a bowl of cold soy joy. Two bowls, actually, because I
couldn't help doing yet another quick comparison of "twin" rival
products. The competing dou hua delights came from two of Singapore's
best hawker stalls in the soya bean business - 51 and
Lao Ban. My taste test had definite results, too, unlike my inconclusive 86-BRZ
comparo. Lao Ban's bean curd was even softer and smoother than 51's, but the
latter was sweeter. Not much of a food review, admittedly, but at least I
managed to "curd" to the chase.
Subaru
BRZ (left) and Toyota 86 (right)
