Subaru BRZ up $100, 'Blue' limited edition added

Subaru boosted the price of its BRZ sports car models $100 for 2015, bringing the base model, called Premium, to $26,490 including shipping. The more upscale Limited models also go up $100.

In addition, Subie said it will offer a special limited edition model of the car to start the 2015 model year.

All 2015 models will go on sale in July. The BRZ is a rear-drive sports car and is Subaru's only U.S. model without all-wheel drive.

Minor BRZ changes for 2015 include larger tailpipe tips, fake carbon-fiber dashboard trim, roof-mounted shark-fin-style radio antenna. The suspension is revised for 2015 to provide what Subaru says will be better handling. Engine's a carryover: 2-liter flat four-cylinder, co-developed with Toyota, rated 200 horsepower.

In fact, the entire car was co-developed with Toyota, which sells a similar vehicle as the Scion FR-S.

The special BRZ Series Blue model will be limited to 1,000 vehicles in the continental U.S. Of those 500 will be blue and 500 white.

The Series Blue adds some cosmetic and aerodynamic pieces, branded with Subaru's STI high-performance parts label, though the only go-fast improvement is more down-force at the front and slightly less wind resistance overall — unlikely to be noticed expect at higher speed.

The Blue Series also gets red disc brakes that can be seen through the wheel spokes and suggest the car's a stopper as well as a goer.

In the Blue Series model's interior, blue stitching accents the seats and the blue and black leather-wrapped steering wheel, as well as the shift lever boot and leather-wrapped parking brake handle.

The blue motif carries to the center console kneepads and door trim, accented by an embroidered silver BRZ logo on the front seat backs. Carpeted floor mats pick up the BRZ logo and blue stitching, as well.

In addition to the base Premium model, which comes only with a six-speed manual transmission, here are new prices for the other 2015 BRZ models:

Limited, six-spe! ed manual, $28,490Limited, six-speed automatic, $25,590Series Blue, six-speed manual, $30,285

The prices include $795 shipping. In Alaska, it's $945, and, Subaru says, shipping might be different in Hawaii and eight northeast states.

Toyota is offering a limited-production version of the FR-S for 2015 called Release Series 1.0. It, too, is mainly a cosmetic job, and the parts are labeled TRD, for Toyota's high-performance and custom parts operation.

The 2015 Scion FR-S goes on sale in June, starting at $25,655 including shipping. That's up $400 from the $25,255 starting price of the 2014.

The 2015 has updates to the front and rear suspension that, Toyota says, improve handling and stability .