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Subaru

2015 Subaru WRX STi leaked, of course

Subaru WRX STi

Despite being less than a week from its official debut can anyone say they are surprised to see images of the all-new Subaru WRX STi ahead of schedule?

Admittedly it’s not starting with a great canvas, the recently released WRX, but this new STi version does look a bit better. Even if only because it has been romanticised with is WRC-inspired blue paint and gold wheels.

While we do have photos, we don’t have anything other than guess work regarding the engine being fed by that bonnet scoop. It will be a four cylinder, it will be turbocharged and it’s likely to have more than 300hp (220kW+). But we don’t know if its capacity will be 2.0 or 2.5 litres.

Not long to wait until we find out, the car will be revealed next week at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit.

[Source: Terra Autos]

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Subaru

All-new Subaru WRX STi confirmed for Detroit

Subaru WRX STi teaser

Subaru has confirmed it will be revealing its brand new WRX STi at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit next week.

While the new STi will be based on the new WRX (revealed in LA last year), we’re still not totally sure what engine it will feature. It could be powered by an upgraded 2.0 litre turbo from the new Rex or perhaps STi may choose to stick with a 2.5 litre capacity. Either way, expect power to be around, or over, the 300hp region (220kW+); the standard WRX boasts 199kW.

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Subaru

Subaru Australia introduces offline BRZ sales option

Subaru BRZ

Subaru Australia has kicked off the new year by allowing consumers to officially buy a BRZ sportscar from their local bricks and mortar dealership.

Until 1 January 2014 BRZ sales had been handled exclusively online, mainly due to limited supply from Japan. Nick Senior, Managing Director, Subaru Australia, explains that’s now a thing of the past, although the option to buy online will remain.

“Production efficiencies at Fuji Heavy Industries, the maker of Subaru cars, have presented this opportunity to expand BRZ sales into our retail network,” Senior said. “It’s great for our customers, because they have the choice of buying online at a driveaway price, or using the more traditional dealer method.”

A total of 1800 BRZs have already been sold by Subaru Australia.

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Subaru

Subaru Australia to offer new WRX online

MY15 Subaru WRX

A brief tweet from Subaru_Active has given notice that Australian buyers will be able to pre-order the new WRX online. At this stage there’s no official comment from Subaru Australia that we’re aware of, but it seems as though the online sales approach offered for the BRZ has worked well enough to adopt it for the WRX as well.

According to the tweet you can put your name on the list from midday today.

The WRX has just been unveiled at the Los Angeles Auto Show and features a new 2.0 litre turbocharged flat-four producing 199kW able to propel the four-door sedan to 100km/h in 5.4 seconds.

UPDATE: A statement from Subaru Australia has been added below and informs that the pre-order offer is limited to the first 100 applicants.

Categories
Motor Shows Subaru

LA 2013: Subaru WRX revealed

MY15 Subaru WRX

When the Subaru Impreza WRX was first launched in the early 1990s it caught the world off guard. The hot hatch market had cooled somewhat and along came this fairly basic, but very quick (for its time) all-wheel drive weapon that could, if not embarrass, take the fight up to supercars.

The WRX went on to carve out an enviable niche, especially here in Australia. It was popular and, with good reason, it was the default choice for anyone with $40K to spend who didn’t want an Aussie “muscle car”.

Then everyone else caught up, if not in outright speed, in general appeal and desirability. The WRX has always been a good car through its generations, but it’s lost something along the way. Subaru’s recent trend to design horrible looking cars hasn’t helped. Truth be known the Rex has never been a pretty car, but that didn’t really matter because its abilities outweighed its visual flaws.

Twenty years is a long time to stay on top in the motoring world and the WRX couldn’t manage it. Now a fading light, the icon needs a rebirth. Something to breathe new life into the aura the WRX used to have.

And then along came the WRX Concept earlier this year. This was it! This was the moment the WRX would reignite the passion it had won two decades ago. All Subaru had to do was flick the switch from concept car to production car. It was a no brainer, we all thought. The WRX Concept looked so good, just perfect, surely even Subaru couldn’t stuff this up?

Ah yes.

To be fair it’s not that bad. It’s just that it could have been so much better.

MY15 Subaru WRX
Engine: 2.0-litre Horizontally-Opposed Direct Injection turbo Boxer engine
Transmission: 6-speed manual or Sport Lineartronic CVT
Power: 199kW at 5600 rpm
Torque: 349Nm at 2000–5200 rpm
0–100km/h: 5.4s (5.9s with CVT)

Categories
Subaru

Another early look at the new Subaru WRX

2014 Subaru WRX

The freedom of the internet brings us another leaked image of the all-new Subaru WRX. This image was sourced from a, Edmunds video posted to YouTube previewing the LA Auto Show. Alas, what the interwebz giveth, the interwebz taketh away and the video has since been removed.

We must thank a CarScoops reader for being quick enough to grab this image while he could. We can see that it does, sadly, match the leaked images of the WRX we saw last week. This further confirms the sexy WRX Concept was a total waste of time and that Subaru has, once again, just stuck a WRX badge on a warmed over Impreza sedan, despite hinting the WRX would be more bespoke than it has been in the past.

The official reveal of the new Rex should take place later today. But if you can’t wait for that, then the word is the 2014 WRX will use a 2.0 litre flat-four turbocharged engine offering 268hp (200kW) at 5600rpm and 350Nm at 4800rpm.

When fitted with a new 6-speed manual ‘box the WRX can reach 100km/h in 5.4 seconds, while that tome increases to 5.9 seconds with the optional CVT. A CVT? Yes, apparently so. In a WRX? Yeah, doesn’t make much sense really.

Fans of Subaru’s 2.5 litre boxer engine can take heart in the fact it will be kept for the high-performance WRX STI.

[Source: CarScoops]

Categories
Subaru

This is disappointment

WRX Concept
2014 Subaru WRX

After seeing the leaked images revealing the 2014 Subaru WRX we thought we’d place them alongside the stunning WRX Concept we saw earlier this year.

We’ll let the pictures do the talking.

Categories
Subaru

2014 Subaru WRX images leaked

2014 Subaru WRX leaked image

Subaru revealed an official teaser image of its all-new WRX overnight (after the break), which means, of course, leaked images soon followed. It’s the leaked image you see above which, at first glance, is something of a let down after hopes soared high on the back of the 2013 WRX Concept.

Although, these unofficial pics (there’s another one below) do seem accurate to the WRX test mules we’ve been seeing in recent times. The WRX prototypes have never seen to be a good match to the sleeker lines shown in the concept model.

The new WRX will be revealed in full at the 2013 LA Auto Show at 5:30am (AEDST) on Thursday 21 November.

Categories
Subaru

New Subaru WRX on sale locally in early 2014

2013 Subaru WRX Concept

Subaru Australia boss, Nick Senior, says the all-new WRX will go on sale in Australia in the first quarter next year. It’s expected the transformation from concept model (pictured) to production model will be revealed at next month’s LA Auto Show.

Speaking to motoring.com.au Senior said: “I’ve had the opportunity to drive it and I think it will not disappoint any of those existing customers. I think it will appeal to new customers because of the changes that they’ve made. Everyone’s conscious that we need to widen the appeal [of the WRX], and I’m certain that this car is going to hit the mark.”

It’s understood Subaru Australia wants the WRX to be on sale next March to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the WRX first going on sale in here in March 1994.

“We launched it at $39,990, 20 years ago. It’s [still] $39,990 today—it’s an incredible value for money [story],” Senior added. “But there’s no doubt there’s going to be substantially more kick, equipment and technology, in the new car.

“We’ve still got—fortunately—six or seven months, and we don’t need to lock away pricing just yet… I think we’ve got to realise that there’s a fair amount of kit that’s going to be added to this car.”

So, we can probably expect the price for the WRX will go beyond the $40,000 barrier, but that increase will be offset by extra goodies.

Those of you who prefer your WRX to have the letters STi following will also be encouraged by Senior’s promise you won’t have too long to wait. “Traditionally it’s been a bit of a gap, but I expect a lot less a gap this time—probably only a couple of months at the most,” he said.

All we have to hope for now is that the production car matches the concept as closely as possible, even though there’s some evidence to suggest that may not be the case.

[Source: motoring.com.au]

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2013 Frankfurt Motor Show in pictures

2013 Frankfurt Motor Show

The lights have been turned off at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show and the mammoth task of dismantling the huge displays has begun. To recap what you may have missed here’s a selection of 120+ pics reminding you what was on show.

Categories
Subaru Video

VIDEO: Subaru BRZ by Crawford Performance

Subaru BRZ by Crawford Performance

Crawford Performance in the US has worked its magic on the Subaru BRZee. They’re the guys who prepped Ken Block’s Gymkhana I & II WRXs. After they finished laughing at the meagre stock figures produced by the blue Toybaru they put things right to the tune of 430hp/500ft-lb (320kW/680Nm). Nice.

Matt Farah from Drive went along and sampled the car to see what it was like. We’d like to have learnt a lot more about the details of the engine rebuild and perhaps some decent performance stats as well. But overall if you like the BRZ, you’ll enjoy this clip.

Categories
Subaru

What if there was no Subaru WRX?

2014 Subaru WRX prototype

A bit over a week ago the next-gen Subaru WRX was seen in circulation at the Nürburgring. Today Autocar brings word that the WRX will not be sold in the UK. The reason given by Subaru UK is a little alarming, we think.

Subaru is now “primarily an SUV brand”, so says Paul Tunnicliffe, Managing Director of the official importer of Subaru to the UK.

Tunnicliffe added that emissions targets are partly to blame, “Things are now in a different place. That market is not as big as it used to be. The EC has strict CO2 targets, and unless you’re selling lots of hybrids or electric cars, a product like WRX STI is hard to justify.”

Okay, that’s the UK market and it doesn’t really affect us down here in the part of the world where the sun does shine. But what if there was no WRX? Would it matter any more? Has the WRX had its time?

For a period in the 1990s, when the hot hatch was facing extinction (in Australia at least), the Rex was the default option for those looking for a relatively cheap go fast new car. It started with a trickle, then by the early noughties became a tsunami with every Tom, Dick and Habib getting in on the action.

By the time the WRX had reached saturation point the hot hatch was reemerging. You could argue the new MINI helped reignite the craze. But once the Mk5 Golf GTI arrived the hot hatch was back in a very big way. Renault, too, was having a say in the matter and all of a sudden it seemed the once all-conquering WRX was the forgotten hero. Where the WRX was the only option, there were, and still are, many options able to tempt buyers away from the WRX.

So, if the next-gen WRX never comes, would anyone care? And if not what would it take to make the WRX relevant once again? We think making a faithful reproduction of the concept model shown in New York would be a better place to start than the Evo-like prototype you see above.

[Source: Autocar]