The 450 HP Crawford Performance Turbo BRZ - /TUNED

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].