Does Scion FR-S / Subaru BRZ sharing even extend to exterior colors?

During the years-long gestation of the so-called Toyobaru coupe, one of the favorite guessing games was how much or how little differentiation there would be between the Toyota/Scion and Subaru versions. As both were finally unveiled, we learned that there is far less distinction between the two than there was between the old-school Detroit 3 ponycar siblings (Ford Mustang/Mercury Cougar, Chevrolet Camaro/Pontiac Firebird and Dodge Challenger/Plymouth Barracuda). Heck, even the later Diamond-Star triplets (Mitsubishi Eclipse/Plymouth Laser/Eagle Talon) showed a bit more differentiation among themselves than the Toyota/Subaru collaboration coupes. Yet, when the carmakers invited the press to the Friday 16 March production launch ceremony of the Toyota 86 and Subaru BRZ at Subaru’s Gunma Main Plant in Ota City, Gunma Prefecture, the two companies strived for maximum distinction by showcasing a Subaru BRZ in the brand’s signature WR Blue Pearl and a Toyota 86 in their exclusive Hot Lava orange hue, as shown above. What about the rest of the color palette, though? Is Subaru’s Dark Gray Metallic any different from Scion’s Asphalt hue? Does Scion’s Whiteout imply a “refrigerator white” as opposed to Subaru’s Satin White Pearl?

The surest way to answer these and other similar questions is to seek out the all-important 3-character alphanumeric paint code for each individual color and see whether or not they are common across both brands. Traditionally, Toyota and Lexus’ official Japanese websites identify exterior colors by that code. Sure enough, Toyota Japan’s Toyota 86 Exterior Bodycolor Index page does not disappoint. In contrast, official Subaru sites are not as forthcoming with this information. Fortunately, there are plentiful other Internet sources, such as the Automotive Touchup site. Following is what we’ve gathered and learned from those sources.

The unequivocably shared colors
Of the seven exterior colors available for each brand (Scion/Toyota and Subaru), four emerge as unequivocably and undoubtedly shared, and use Subaru-sourced paint codes, even in their Toyota/Scion applications. They are:

Dark Gray / 61K / Asphalt (Scion) / Dark Gray Metallic (Subaru)
Red / C7P / Firestorm (Scion) / Lightning Red (Subaru)
Black / D4S / Raven (Scion) / Crystal Black Silica (Subaru)
White / 37J / Whiteout (Scion) / Satin White Pearl (Subaru)

Thus, fans of “refrigerator”, non-pearlescent whites will be disappointed, since, at least for the 2013 model year, this will be the only shade of white to be offered for both brands.

Dark blue and silver. Shared or not?
Figuring out whether or not the dark blue and silver hues are shared between Toyota and Subaru took a bit more detective work, since their respective D6S and E8H color codes do not appear on the 2012 Automotive Touchup site. It turns out that the silver is the equivalent of a throwback jersey or a revived Nike shoe style, since D6S Sterling Silver Metallic was last offered by Subaru outside of North America in 2009 and 2010. Confusingly, in 2009 Subaru used both the Sterling Silver Metallic and Platinum Silver Metallic monikers to describe D6S. Thus, we can add

Silver / D6S / Argento (Scion) / Sterling Silver Metallic (Subaru)

Similarly E8H dark blue was last offered by Subaru outside of North America in 2010, discontinued for the 2011 and 2012 model years and brought back for the 2013 BRZ.

Dark Blue / E8H / Ultramarine (Scion) / Galaxy Blue Silica (Subaru)

WR Blue Pearl, yes, but which one?
Beyond the D6S Sterling Silver Metallic / Platinum Silver Metallic example we quoted earlier, Subaru color name / paint code alignment can be a bit convoluted. For instance, 37J, 925 and 926 paint codes all bear the Satin White Pearl name. And two separate paint codes (02C and 42C) both share the WR (World Rally) Blue Pearl denomination. What is the precise difference between the two? And which one does the BRZ use?

Page 3 of an official Japanese Subaru BRZ Options chart is inconclusive, for it only lists the last two characters of the three-character Subaru paint code, and 2C can equally refer to 02C or 42C. We know for a fact, however, that the current U.S. market WRX and STI use the 02C iteration of WR Blue Pearl. Further confusing matters, some sources outside the U.S., such as Pro-Spray Automotive Finishes list Subaru paint code 42C as Jet Silver Metallic. Fortunately, a visit to the 2012 New York Auto Show during press previews clarified matters, for the sole BRZ on the Subaru stand just happened to be WR Blue Pearl, and opening the passenger-side door revealed the 02C color code.

Two different color codes for Hot Lava? What’s up with that?
After ragging on Subaru for applying the same name to 2 or 3 different color codes, we must note that Scion has seemingly done something similar with the Hot Lava color name. While the signature 86/FR-S orange bears the H8R color code on Toyota Japan’s Toyota 86 Exterior Bodycolor Index page, on other Scion applications, namely the just-launched iQ, 2004 xB Release Series 1.0, 2008 xD Release Series 1.0 and 2012 xB Release Series 9.0, the color code is 4R8.

Why the two different codes (4R8 and H8R) for Hot Lava? We have a couple of possible educated guesses:

1) There is some sort of subtle difference between the FR-S Hot Lava and the version on iQ plus the myriad Release Series models that justifies the two separate color codes.

2) The Hot Lava hue itself is identical on FR-S and the FWD Scions but, given that the other GT 86 / FR-S exterior colors use Subaru paint codes (not to mention the Subaru-only WR Blue Pearl), then the H8R is a Subaru paint code for what is, at heart, a Toyota/Scion paint color.

The answer is something of an “all of the above”. Given that the Toyota/Scion is built in Subaru’s Gunma assembly plant (and, indeed, the inside door jamb/sill information labels clearly state that the vehicle is built by Subaru parent Fuji Heavy Industries even for Toyota and Scion-branded versions), it is only natural that FR-S Hot Lava would use a Subaru-specific color code in line with all the other exterior hues. Yet, as luck would have it, the Scion stand at the 2012 New York Auto Show had a Hot Lava iQ and a Hot Lava FR-S not even 50 feet from each other, and consensus was that the FR-S H8R hue is a bit lighter and brighter than the iQ and previous Release Series models’ 4R8.