It’s hard to find a car enthusiast who doesn’t approve of the 2014-2015 Subaru BRZ. It’s also hard to find one who doesn’t think it could use a bit more power from its 2.0 liter horizontally opposed four-cylinder. The BRZ->ke3973 is a fantastic sports car->ke506 with excellent handling and a reasonable bottom line, but the 200-horsepower engine can be a bit short on excitement at times. The news that the upcoming BRZ STI doesn’t include a power increase is a bit disappointing too.

Fear not, though, Subaru->ke86 has heard the complaints. Subaru of America's COO Tom Doll said in an interview with Autoline TV that the BRZ’s perceived horsepower shortage will be addressed in the future. “There’s a place for the BRZ in our product lineup,” Doll said, speaking of the BRZ's incongruous nature in the brand's all-wheel drive, wagon-and-sedan focused lineup. “We may have to do some things to it to enhance the driving performance a little more; take it up a little bit…if it had a little bit more performance to it, it could really take up the sales level even more."

The BRZ STI has been confirmed for North American sale in the next couple of years, and Subaru brought the 2015 Subaru STI Performance Concept to the New York Auto Show->ke226 this year to highlight possible body modifications to the sports coupe.->ke141 Though the concept features a 345-horsepower turbocharged 2.0 liter four-cylinder borrowed from Subaru's Japanese racing->ke447 arm, the production BRZ STI won't receive any engine mods. It may even get a "tuned by STI" badge rather than be a true STI model. That's no way for this entertaining little coupe to go out: the BRZ needs tire-shredding power, stat.

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Why it matters

Doll's comments concerning the matter give us some hope that Subaru isn't completely clueless as to what enthusiasts would like. The brand has done very well with its rally-based performance cars, adapting the all-wheel drive WRX->ke4657 for regular production. It's possible that the WRX STI's powerplant could find its way into the BRZ at some point. The BRZ's future could also depend on the evolution of the relationship between Subaru and Toyota,->ke88 as the two manufacturers each sell versions of the car.

2014-2015 Subaru BRZ

Read our full review here.