Installing An LS3 V8 Is The Extreme Way To Make A BRZ Faster

We get it: the Subaru BRZ/Toyota GT86 twins are not that powerful. Neither company wants to increase the output of its version, so if you want to extract more from that 2.0-litre, naturally-aspirated flat-four, you’ll need to think about adding a turbo or supercharger into the mix.

Or you could do something much more drastic, not to mention more expensive: dump in a whole new engine. In the case of this Brill Street Motorsport BRZ, that ‘whole new engine’ is an LS3 V8 pumping out 580bhp. Should do.

The car was filmed by YouTube channel Automotive Mike recently (above video), but it’s been doing the rounds for a while now. That means there is an older video out there that gives us a look under the bonnet (below) if you can cope with the dreadful jerky, vertically-shot footage. The LS3 looks quite snug in there, doesn’t it?

Installing it required a whole new front subframe, and the engine sits on Corvette ZR1 mounts, Speed Hunters reported a while back. Apparently, the combined weight of the V8 and its Tremec gearbox is only 20kg more than the original engine and transmission. Not bad.

The finishing touch? That’d be a Rocket Bunny widebody kit. Well, the exhaust note isn’t subtle, so it needs to look quite excessive too, doesn’t it?