"Faster, sexier, more playful": 2022 Subaru BRZ pricing and specification confirmed for Australia - and the manual cars are a bargain...

The 2022 Subaru BRZ will arrive in Australia with two trim level options, with the Toyota GR 86 to beat its rival to the country when it arrives early next year.

We know plenty about the BRZ already, and we'll recap it in just a moment, but the big question mark remaining was what it would cost you to climb into one.

That riddle has now been solved, with Subaru confirming a two-trim strategy for Australia, with only a relatively minor increase in list pricing for the manual cars, and plenty more power and tech to justify it.

The Subaru BRZ gets an updated look.

2022 Subaru BRZ pricing:

• Coupe manual: $38,990 (was $38,250)
• Coupe auto: $42,790 (was $40,580)
• Coupe S manual: $40,190 (was $40,080)
• Coupe S auto: $43,990 (was $42,140)

The 2022 Subaru BRZ range will begin in Australia with the BRZ Coupe, which will list at $38,990 for the manual and $42,790 for the automatic.

That's an increase on the outgoing model, with the entry-level BRZ formerly starting at $38,520 for the manual and $40,580 for the auto.

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The keen-eyed will notice the gap between outgoing manual and new manual is significantly smaller than the gap between outgoing auto and new auto, and the reason - says Subaru - is a heap of new safety gear, including Subaru's Eyesight Driver Assist safety suite - that's not offered on the manual-equipped car.

The Coupe gets the new engine - the 2.4-litre, four-cylinder 'boxer' engine, delivering 170kW and 249Nm to the rear wheels, a significant boost from the old car's 152kW and 212Nm.

A bigger, more powerful engine debuts in the 2022 Subaru BRZ.

It also rides on the Subaru Global Platform, with an increase in body rigidity and stiffness for more responsive handling, while it also delivers a "near-optimal" weight distribution.

You can have a six-speed manual or a six-speed auto with paddle shifters and Sport mode, which will select a lower gear more quickly, and hold it for longer, when cornering. You also get new 18-inch alloys wrapped in Michelin Sport 4 performance rubber.

Inside, you get a sport-themed digital driver display in the binnacle, with adjustable modes including Track, as wells an 8.0-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android auto, plus nav and digital radio.

Manual-equipped cars get blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert and lane change assist, and LED active headlights. The auto cars add EyeSight, and reverse auto braking and high-beam assist.

The range then steps up the BRZ Coupe S, which is $40,190 for the manual, and $43,990 for the auto. It replaces the old Premium spec, which was $40,080 for the manual and $42,140 for the auto.

For the extra spend, you match the Coupe's spec offering, but add leather and suede seats that are heated in the front.

The Subaru BRZ cabin is a more tech-savvy space.

Subaru in Australia has secured an initial allotment of 500 vehicles, which are expected to arrive in early 2022. Today - as in right now - the brand has opened pre-orders for those first vehicles, inviting buyers to plonk down a deposit to secure their vehicle. Like the last BRZ, orders can be made entirely online, or via a dealer.

But if you want one, act sharpish. Subaru is unable to confirm when a second allotment might become available for Australia, nor how many vehicles in total we might see in 2022, and there have been plenty who have already registered their interest.

"So far we've got 2900 enthusiastic fans eagerly waiting to hear more news from us. This emulates the passion we experienced nine years ago when we launched the first-generation BRZ, and had a record sell-out in under four hours," says Amanda Leaney, GM of marking for Subaru Australia.

"Our pre-launch program starts with a program for our enthusiastic fans to access the first allocation of production vehicles. There will be 500 BRZ models available in this first allocation, with deliveries starting in mid-Q1, 2022, and continuing in Q2, 2022.

"Now the delivery wait time from the point of order will be long, but worth the wait.

"The whole purpose of the Subaru BRZ is to make our drivers grin. And it's now faster, sexier and more playful than ever."