BRZ

Make
Subaru
Segment
Coupe

Just a few weeks ago, Subaru finally revealed the official name of their upcoming rear-wheel-drive sports coupe, the BRZ. According to the Japanese automaker, the BRZ initials stand for "boxer engine," "rear-wheel drive" and "zenith." Yeah, we weren't too impressed either. And now there are some fresh spy shots of the prototype test mule in action before the car is shown in concept form at the Frankfurt Auto Show next week.

This concept will only be one small step away from the production version, which will be revealed in December at the Tokyo Auto Show. We know that the engine will be a newly developed 2.0 liter four-cylinder boxer engine with direct injection connected to either a six-speed manual or auto. While there's still no official output numbers, we know this car, along with its Toyota FT-86/Scion FR-S cousins, represents a return to the basic and inexpensive sports car. If you look closely at these photos, it's possible to see the front and rear light designs, which clearly resemble Subaru's latest styling.

We also still don't know how much the BRZ will differ from the FT-86/FR-S in terms of pricing and packaging, but pricing should be quite similar. The BRZ will be sold in the U.S. along with the Scion FR-S. The Toyota FT-86 will be sold in Europe and Japan. First deliveries are planned for early/mid 2012. Photos: CarPix