The Subaru BRZ—which stands for boxer engine rear-wheel drive zenith, by the way—was developed in partnership with Toyota with the goal of creating a lightweight, rear-wheel drive sports coupe. Now, for their latest entry in the All-Japan Rally Championship, Subaru has redefined both the acronym and the machine into something else entirely.
Enter the Subaru Boxer Rally spec.Z, an all-wheel drive rally competitor. It’s set to make its debut in the third round of the All-Japan Rally Championship in the JN1 class, the highest level of competition in the championship. The BRZ will be piloted by decorated rally driver Toshihiro Arai alongside his co-driver Yuichi Ando for Subaru Team Arai.
A production model Subaru BRZ was used as the basis for the Boxer Rally spec.Z—this isn’t a purpose built racing chassis like the HiPerfX2 we covered a while back. The drivetrain was converted to all-wheel drive, and the body was reinforced to be able to handle the stress of rally stages.
The production-spec FA24 engine was also retained, being fitted with a turbo to squeeze more power out of the four-cylinder block. The mounting position was also adjusted to lower the center of gravity. This is in tandem with a revised suspension setup, tuned with data derived from the outgoing WRX S4.
Power output is around 276hp and 500Nm of torque. Do note that Subaru used the very specific phrase “or more” in the spec table, meaning they could be concealing just how powerful the Boxer Rally spec.Z is, for now...
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Other upgrades include widened fenders to accomodate additional track width, a new hood-mounted air intake, 18-inch wheels from Work wrapped in 210/650-R18 tires from Advan, four-pot brakes from Endless, and an STI swan neck spoiler.
The JN1 class that the Boxer Rally spec.Z will compete in requires vehicle compliance with JP4 technical regulations, including a 1,300kg minimum weight. While the previous WRX S4-derived car had issues meeting the figure, the innately lightweight stock BRZ makes the build underweight by default.
And that’s no issue at all. Instead, it offered engineers flexibility to strategically position the ballasts to optimize weight distribution and further lower the car’s center of gravity. This makes it clear that using the BRZ as a platform was a measured engineering tactic, and not just a marketing stunt.
Speaking on the Boxer Rally spec.Z, Toshihiro Arai said: “My first impression of driving the new vehicle was that almost all of the issues we had been struggling with have been resolved. We still have to do some testing simulating actual races, but I have a strong feeling that the overall balance of the car has improved by two or three levels compared to the previous machine.”
Work on developing the Boxer Rally spec.Z started sometime in the second half of 2025, and Subaru’s team is ready to see if they hit the mark with their new car. Of course, as a works team race car, this BRZ won’t be going into production soon. Still, an AWD BRZ would be amazing to have in the Japanese brand’s lineup. But we’re guessing fans want Subaru to focus on that long-awaited WRX hatchback comeback first.
