Subaru BRZ sales brisk in Japan

Subaru's new BRZ sports coupe is off to a brisk start in Japan, selling at a monthly rate quadruple its initial forecast. Since the car debuted Feb. 3, Subaru parent Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. has sold 3,551 of the rear-wheel-drive BRZs, the company said Wednesday in a press release. Subaru had forecast monthly sales of only 450 units in Japan. But it is not uncommon for newly released models in Japan to at first see explosive orders that gradually taper off. The sporty 2.0-liter, four-cylinder BRZ, which starts at 2.06 million yen ($24,830) in Japan for a stripped-down version, is the platform-sharing twin of the Scion FR-S. The car goes on sale in the United States on April 20 with a monthly sales goal of 500. Initial sales data seem to suggest the BRZ is tapping a coveted younger customer base attracted to the car’s promise of sportier driving. So far, nearly 60 percent of BRZ customers are under 40 years of age--and two-thirds are picking the six-speed manual over the automatic transmission. The top-selling color is WR blue mica, in a nod to the signature hue of Subaru’s WRX performance line.