Subaru BRZ runs Isle of Man TT in Press Launch w/ VIDEO

[BRZ-Club.com]

Homepage Article Link: http://brz-club.com/subaru-brz-runs-...aunch-w-video/

In a seemingly endless effort to differentiate the environments in which new cars are experienced by journalists, automakers go from the Costa del Sol to the untamed backroads of rural India to show off their latest offerings.

Subaru already previewed their BRZ in Japan and along Southern France's Route Napoleon, but after setting the automotive lap record at last year's Isle of Man TT with a WRX STi (the first time a car had run the course in over 20 years), Subaru cheekily announced yet another BRZ launch, saying they "lied, begged and pleaded long enough with the organizers" to allow journalists to be the first non-racers to drive the storied road course at speed for the first time.

The experience was surreal. Shooting through the in-town section, the BRZ hit speeds of up to 120 mph-- which, due to the narrow roads and nearby stone walls and trees, felt twice as fast. The throngs of fans along the course were so close, I could've rolled a window down, stuck a hand out, and slapped them with high-speed high fives. The final run through the mountain course offered staggering vistas to the Irish Sea, where wide open stretches of road see motorcycles surpassing 200 mph speeds on race days.

Perhaps the only problem with Subaru's first-ever press launch? The challenge of outdoing themselves with an even more grandiose media drive.


Read more: Subaru BRZ Demands-- and Gets-- a Different Kind of Press Launch - Popular Mechanics

Source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars...isle-of-man-tt

[JimLill]

Is that a roll cage door bar I see in the pix logo'd car?

[SeeeeeYa]

Obviously roll-caged. I'm sure that's a requirement imposed by course officials.

The STi last year survived disaster by a hair's breadth. Mororcyclists die there every year. Subaru is flirting with an outcome they really do not want. This is the most death-defying racing venue on the planet IMO. Failure here would NOT be good press.

[JimLill]

Obviously roll-caged. I'm sure that's a requirement imposed by course officials.

If it's a single door bar, that is a poor cage. SCCA imposed dual door bars in Club Racing 5+ years ago to guard against t-bone issues. Most of us went with NASCAR style side structures to be extra safe.

[raventare]

You can also see the cage tubing over the door too...definitely not a beginners road course, the Isle of Man, with 237 motorcycle deaths during racing events and since it is a public road of 37 miles most of the time, who knows how many automobile deaths have occurred. If you hurry you could catch some of the events right now, but you would have to hurry.

[JimLill]

I notice no rear diffuser, the optional OEM or otherwise. Does that suggest that is fluff?

[raventare]

Obviously the lack of preparation is because those Subarus were lead and followed by safety chase cars and driven by Journalists "at speed" determined by the lead car...a demo ride.

[JimLill]

Diffusers work on some cars, maybe the BRZ doesn't benefit from even a "real" one (?). The car in the static photo is unique from the rest in the "parade lap", it is first and the rest look more stock

[raventare]

If you look at the instructions you provided for the "Subaru" rear diffuser installation, it is quite evident it is only fluff...and for $800, expensive fluff. Were you insinuating that a rear diffuser is fluff in general? The car seems to have only minimal preparation with little or no suspension changes and the door panels are still there...maybe the airbags too.

[raventare]

The physics of the diffuser work anywhere, its just that the creation of those physics do require R/D and that is not cheap and may not be viable for every car owner. More and more today's race car owners have found that wind tunnel time creates winners and lack of budget for this creates "also ran's". My Hero, Smokey Yunick, was a master in this area and his early development was usually banned because of the advantage it gave. Thank goodness for new software that is available to at least get you in the ballpark of where you would like to be...then comes the real world testing to nitpick it to perfection, if there is such a thing.