Subaru BRZ concept: Boxer rebellion

Subaru's BRZ Coupe. Photo / Supplied

BRZ concept car launches with its Toyota FT-86 counterpart.

There will be no turbocharged version of the Subaru BRZ coupe - and all-wheel drive has also been ruled out, says the carmaker.

The rear-drive coupe, at Frankfurt in wireframe guise, will come only with a normally aspirated four-cylinder 2-litre boxer engine, with a power output of about 150kW.

Options are six-speed manual and automatic gearbox, and Subaru claims the model will have the lowest centre of gravity of any rear-drive sports car on sale.

And despite being launched alongside Toyota's FT-86, also on show at Frankfurt as a concept, Subaru insists it has played the leading role in development.

"The car may initially be branded as a Toyota, but it is a Subaru," said product planning chief Toshio Masuda. Both versions will be unveiled at the Tokyo motor show in November.

The BRZ name stands for Boxer engine, Rear-wheel drive and Zenith. The Frankfurt concept was called the BRZ Prologue - Boxer Sports Car Architecture II, the II referring to the fact that a wire frame model was already revealed at the Geneva motor show earlier this year.

Production is scheduled to begin in the first half of next year, just a few months after its Toyota counterpart.

No precise engine details have been released, but both cars should be good for a 0-100km/h time of about eight seconds and a top speed of 230km/h.

The Toyota FT-86 will also be rear-drive and made at Subaru's Gunma factory in Japan.

Christened the FT-86 II in reference to the fact that this is the second evolution of the concept, first shown back in 2009, the car gets revised detailing front and rear, particularly around the front bumper and lights.

The concept has a 2570mm wheelbase and measures 4235mm in length. It's also 1795mm wide and 1270mm high - making it about the same size as a Volkswagen Scirocco.