Subaru has announced that the two-litre, turbocharged EJ20 flat-4 engine in the GT300 Subaru BRZ will be retired from competition after the 2025 Autobacs SUPER GT Series.
The EJ20, which began production in 1989, has powered every Subaru GT300 car on the All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC) and SUPER GT grid for the last 28 years. Cusco Racing entered two generations of the Subaru Impreza in GT300 from 1998 to 2008. Subaru began its current partnership with R&D Sport in 2009, fielding the Legacy B4 GT300 and two generations of the BRZ GT300.
The second-generation (ZD8) Subaru BRZ GT300 captured the manufacturer’s first GT300 Championship in 2021, two years after Subaru stopped building the EJ20 engine for production vehicles.
The EJ20 was also the engine used in every Subaru FIA World Rally Championship entry from 1990 and the introduction of the Prodrive-developed Legacy RS Turbo, to Colin McRae’s title-winning Impreza Group A car, and its successors until the Subaru World Rally Team withdrew after the 2008 season.
An official statement from Subaru Technica International (STI) on social media reads: “The EJ20 has been the heart of Subaru for so many years. While it left the production car stage after the 2019 model year, it continued to power Subaru machines in the world of motorsports.
“The final motorsport engine to bear the EJ20 name is the one currently powering the #61 Subaru BRZ R&D Sport competing in SUPER GT. It has shared both triumphs and hardships with Subaru for 16 years, since the company began competing directly in the SUPER GT Series in 2009.
“This engine will retire after this season, handing over the role of the car’s powerplant to its successor next season.”
While the EJ20 engine has enjoyed a long life in motor racing, R&D Sport has not won in SUPER GT since the 2022 Fuji summer race and has experienced its share of costly mechanical failures since its title-winning campaign.
At the 2025 Fuji Golden Week race, the #61 Subaru BRZ R&D Sport suffered an engine failure on the final lap, just a few corners away from its first win in nearly three years. The car also retired due to engine trouble during the second Fuji Sprint Race in August.
Having completely rebuilt the BRZ GT300 in 2025, Subaru has now decided to replace the EJ20 engine with a new motor in 2026.
That motor has already begun testing. During the GT Entrants’ Association (GTE) sanctioned test at Mobility Resort Motegi on 6/7 October, a modified version of the previous-generation (ZC6) Subaru BRZ GT300 entered as the “STI S001”, with no decals, but a modified bonnet, NACA duct, and exhaust configuration.
Engineers and mechanics did not allow the general public to look at the car with its engine cover off, but as it ran, fans could immediately notice a different engine note, similar to that of a six-cylinder engine.
90°コーナー、丁度周りに車両が居なかったので聴きやすいかと#SUPERGT https://t.co/Ck8lFrXBkt pic.twitter.com/KIFYr22epk
— YUTA@BRZ鷲 (@Eagles27yuta) October 6, 2025
Subaru stopped production of its last flat-6 engine in 2019, the same year that the EJ20 ended production.
The Subaru WRX NBR Challenge car used at the Nürburgring 24 Hours, and the Subaru HighPerformanceX Future Concept running in the Super Taikyu Series, are both powered by the newer FA24, a 2.4-litre turbocharged flat-4 engine.
The true identity of the new Subaru BRZ GT300 engine will be revealed at a later date, likely at the Tokyo Auto Salon in January, if not before.
Images © Subaru, GTA
