MATT FARAH: Now we know that the Scion FRS and Subaru BRZ
are fun to drive because you can drive then at 10 tenths
basically all the time.
Earlier this season, we learned that if you put a
bolt-on turbo kit, making it an extra 100 horsepower, that
they don't lose their overall flavor.
But what happens when you take a Subaru BRZ and double the
horsepower and triple the torque output?
That means a fully built engine from the ground up and
everything that goes along with it.
That's why we borrowed Crawford's Subaru BRZ for the
day, which makes 430 horsepower and 500 pounds of
torque on pumped gas.
I just like saying that.
I love Subarus.
Well, not all Subarus.
The new Outback is huge.
The new STI is too expensive and not very pretty.
And the new Tribeca inexplicably shares a grill
with a Chrysler 200.
No, I love older Subarus, the early 2000 WRX 22 B's, the
super sleeper fourth gen Legacy GT Wagon, even the
ultra-light Impreza L, which makes for a perfect
project Rally car.
But if you want to talk new Subarus, this is it.
It's the BRZ.
It's the first rear-drive Subaru in 40 years.
And as both the reviews and the sales
have shown, it's fantastic.
The balance, the controls, the seats, the style, and the
price are all right where they need to be so you can enjoy
your car stock, but also use it as a platform
for a tuning project.
But where to start with your tuning project?
How about the engine.
It's not often that Subaru releases a
completely new box or engine.
It's been three years since the last one, and it was 21
years before that.
And the all-new FA 20 motor powering the Subaru BRZ is an
engine worth waiting for.
Now, before you start running to the comments section and
writing in all caps about how slow the 86 Twins are,
remember, this is "TUNED," not "Top Gear." On "TUNED," it's
not important how much power an engine
makes from the factory.
It's all about how much it can make.
And according to Quirt Crawford, the FA20 is
the best boxer yet.
QUIRT CRAWFORD: You know what?
I'm damn good at it.
I'm damn good at making power.
I'm Really good at spending money.
I would say the car probably had about 800 miles on it
before the engine came out of it.
And then out it came.
And the only reason it had that many miles on it is
because I was waiting for the pistons and rods to show up.
Otherwise, it would've been out sooner.
I basically increased the valve springs a little bit on
it to compensate for the extra boost to the motor.
Other than that, that was where we started at with the
motor, just to do the R&D and see what it liked, and then
put it in the car and started breaking parts.
The first issue we had was clutch.
The first clutch we put in the car would only hold about--
475 pounds of torque was about it.
Next thing we broke was the CV joint in the back of the car.
That didn't take long either.
But other than that, we haven't really been breaking
too many parts.
It's been pretty reliable.
The motor has been very reliable.
This particular engine is much stronger than the EJ motor.
It really likes to make power.
The same turbo we've put on this engine, on an STI, we can
make like 360 horsepower.
On this motor, it made 430.
Same turbo, smaller motor.
The FA motor really likes making power.
[CAR ENGINE REVVING]
MATT FARAH: That was an obscene speed, straight
uphill, up a very steep hill at that.
I mean, this is now-- this is not an
entry-level sports car anymore.
This thing is a rocket ship.
And it is [BLEEP]
awesome.
What happens when you double the horsepower and triple the
torque via a fully built engine, not even huge turbo,
and a lot of tuning know-how, and you end up with a car that
has a better power-to-weight ratio than a 911 Turbo?
997 Turbo.
Anyone who has seen Gymkhana 1, which is everyone,
basically, knows what Crawford is.
They built Ken Block's famous first Gymkhana Subaru.
These guys have been doing Subaru engines and nothing but
Subaru engines for a really long time.
And yes, we have driven a Turbo FRS on the show.
That was a bolt-on kit that went on a stock motor.
This is very, very different.
On pump gas, this car makes 430 horsepower and
500 pounds of torque.
You want to run E85, which is on the fly with the maps
they've got in here.
It makes an extra 50 on top of that.
You're talking almost 500 horsepower in a rear-wheel
drive car that weighs 2,700 pounds.
I mean, that's better than Z06 Corvettes That's better than a
Porsche Turbo.
That is ridiculous from 2 liters in a
rear-wheel drive Subaru.
QUIRT CRAWFORD: Basically, doubling the horsepower of the
engine and tripling the torque takes it from a vehicle that
you drive it at--
you know, with a couple hundred horsepower, you drive
it at 110% all the time.
With this setup, I drive the car at 20%, maybe.
Very rarely do I squeeze the throttle because it
just wants to go.
And I guess I could say it's an accident waiting to happen,
or a ticket it waiting to happen as well.
So I drive it pretty gingerly most of the time.
MATT FARAH: We haven't driven a car in a long time that
sounds like "Fast and the Furious." When you think tuner
cars, this is what you think of--
4 cylinder, bunch of boost, that sound, that sound, but
it's great.
Steering feel still awesome, lightweight still awesome, you
can shred the hell out of the rear tires through the first
three gears.
And it's still got plenty of that character that I love
about these cars.
You just have to be a little bit more careful now because
when that boost comes on, you get peak boost at 3,500 RPMs.
So sort of like an old 911, you've got to know when that
boost is coming on, know where your foot is, know where the
car's pointed when boost happens.
QUIRT CRAWFORD: I would say the car probably have close to
200 dynapoles on it, and then lots of track time, and lots
and lots of street time.
I usually change the map in it two, three times a day.
It's my daily driver.
So I drive it home, change the map.
Drive it to work, change the map.
Drive it to lunch, change the map.
Put it on the dyno, change the map a bunch of times.
MATT FARAH: It really does have the best steering feel of
any car you can buy under $60,000.
It's like this and a Cayman.
That's the steering feel champions.
It's a got a great shifter.
Ah! you're going to have to start behaving on me, motor.
I'm not sure why, because it seems like they've done a lot
of research on this car, but it seems to be breaking up
above 4,000 RPM in every gear but first.
There's third gear.
Ah, it worked that time [CHUCKLES].
OK, maybe I just had to call it out on misbehaving, and
it's like, oh, yeah, oh that.
Oh, you wanted me to work.
Oh, OK.
Yeah, it works good now.
Oh, there we go.
Holy [BLEEP].
OK, when it works right, good God, is that thing fast, man.
It's crazy what you can do with a 2-liter engine, some
boost, and rear-wheel drive.
And that Boxer engine layout, it's all about the torque.
Tom has to leave for the airport in two hours, and I'm
in the Crawford BRZ.
And you'll notice I'm not on a canyon road right now.
I'm in a strip mall parking lot.
Why?
Because even though we only have 3 and 1/2 hours to shoot
this, Tom had to stop for a sandwich.
And when I mean had to, I mean, he literally refuses to
work unless he eats a sandwich first, even though he's the
reason that we only have three hours to make this film.
You're getting four sandwiches?
TOM: I'm going to get five sandwiches.
You want something, right?
MATT FARAH: Sure.
I mean, if you're getting five, I mean--
[CHUCKLES].