Toyota and Subaru reveal jointly developed sport electric SUVs

Japanese automakers Toyota and Subaru unveiled performance sport variant concepts of their jointly developed 2022 Toyota BZ4X and 2022 Subaru Solterra electric SUVs at the 2022 Tokyo Auto Salon.

Toyota and Subaru announced back in 2019 that they would jointly develop a battery electric drivetrain platform, which would first take the form of a C-Class SUV that each carmaker would sell with their respective badges.

The resulting electric SUVs were unveiled last year, with Toyota unveiling the BZ4X and Subaru the Solterra.

At the 2022 Tokyo Auto Salon motor show last week, both Toyota and Subaru unveiled sports performance concept variants of the BZ4X and Solterra, using their respective performance branding, resulting in the Toyota BZ4X GR Sport and Subaru Solterra STI.

Details on either concept are pretty sparse, with neither Toyota or Subaru giving away much in terms of whether the concept will ever make it to production and what is beneath the hood.

Of the Solterra STI Concept, Subaru said only that it was “based on the Solterra all-electric SUV” and featured “a roof spoiler, cherry-red under spoilers, and other special parts on its exterior, the model inspires Subaru’s superior driving dynamics.”

Similarly vague and hyperbolic, Toyota described the BZ4X GT Sport Concept as delivering “an elevated level of environmental performance and driving pleasure” and featuring “larger tires, sports seats, and matte black exterior body panels are among the highlights of this concept vehicle.”

If the lack of new specifications provided for their new performance concept variants means no changes have been made under the hood, then both the BZ4X GR Sport and Solterra STI concepts will either be powered by a single 150kW electric motor on the front axle, or two 80kW electric motors split across the axles for all-wheel drive.

It is expected that the Toyota BZ4X will make it to Australian shores by the end of 2022, while the Subaru Solterra’s arrival in Australia is part of “ongoing dialogue between Subaru Australia and the factory,” according to a Subaru spokesperson who spoke to The Driven in September.

Unsurprisingly, there is no word – and likely won’t be for a while – as to whether the new sport variant concepts will ever see the light of day, let alone the harsh light of Australia.