There was nary a peep of discontent about the looks of the Subaru Advanced Tourer concept revealed at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show. But when everyone was clamoring for Scooby to transfer the Advanced Tourer's looks to a production vehicle, never once did people ask for that transfer to be foisted on the WRX. A report in Motor Trend, though, says that's what's happening: the concept "was actually an early look at the next-generation Subaru WRX."
MT's sources said the front end Advanced Tourer's front end will go onto the WRX, with other aspects of the concept made more aggressive to suit the personality of Subaru's rally-ready racer. And if the concept also presages the next WRX's dimensions, then you can expect the next-generation sedan and hatchback to be larger (though in truth we don't anticipate a big gain in footprint).
Notice the name "Impreza" hasn't appeared anywhere in our discussion yet. Subaru is reportedly dropping the name in an attempt to get more 'Likes' for the WRX by making it more approachable, so the next model will relinquish its association with the Impreza line and be more performanced focused even as it is receives a better interior and is morphed into a "more-mature sporty grand tourer." Engine choices are still being debated for the car due in 2015; the rumored options include 1.6-liter and 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinders and a hybrid version of the 1.6-liter.
Automotive News reports Subaru no longer plans to manufacture vehicles in China in the near future. The company had originally planned to begin building cars in the country by 2016, but has re-shifted its focus back toward North America. Subaru will now increase production at its Indiana facility while also investigating other ways to up capacity in NA. That could mean adding a new line in Indiana or building an entirely new facility.
It's only been 10 months since Subaru announced it planned to build a manufacturing plant in China in just five years. Last year, the company said it planned to build 150,000 units per year in the People's Republic and import an additional 30,000 vehicles. Those numbers have been slimmed to a more modest 100,000 units, all of which will be imports. While Yasuyuki Yoshinaga, the president of Fuji Heavy Industries, says he would still like to see Subaru have a factory in China, he doesn't expect it to happen by 2016.
In the meantime, Subaru has also increased its North American sales targets from 380,000 units to 410,000.
The next-generation Subaru WRX and WRX STI are still shrouded in a cloak of secrecy. Or is it indecision? Either way, Car and Driver is reporting that when Subaru eventually pulls the wraps off whatever is going to wear the WRX badge, there's going to be a turbocharged version of the 2.0-liter FA-series engine underhood, a derivative of the naturally aspirated engine that's found in the Subaru BRZ.
How does the venerable buff book know this? Because the turbo'ed flat-four has already appeared in the Japanese domestic market Legacy, making 296 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque, mated to a continuously variable transmission. C/D says that engine differs from the one in the BRZ in that it uses Subaru's own direct injection system rather than one coming from Toyota.
In the standard WRX, horsepower numbers are expected to be a bit lower than in the JDM Legacy, though the STI version will probably see power boosted. C/D says the new 2.0-liter engine is supplanting the 2.5-liter Subaru has been using due to fuel economy considerations, though there's also something to the notion of consolidating powertrains to reap greater efficiencies in manufacturing.
With a couple of high-level U.S. defectors from the RallyCross series into other motorsport disciplines there was a domestic vacuum at the top, and we know what nature thinks about that. Enter German shoe/sportswear Puma, which is throwing its sponsor dollars behind the factory-backed Subaru PUMA Rallycross Team.
Dave Mirra heads up the trio of drivers, joined by Bucky Lasek and Sverre Isachsen, and they'll run all six RallyCross rounds this year in 2012 WRX STi's. Of course, you can't properly launch a team without some smoke and sliding action, so you'll find that in the video after the jump. And make sure to peep the "Zombie Cat" Puma skeletons on the cars while you're at it...
Continue reading Puma becomes RallyCross team sponsor, releases obligatory Gymkhana vid
Subaru has been trying to figure out the direction for its three-headed monster, as the Impreza and its WRX and WRX STI variants have grown increasingly at odds over the past two generations. Now this gets thrown into the mix: When the new WRX gets released in late 2013, it may ditch the traditional exhaust-gas powered turbocharger for a new, electric design.
That's right, according to The Sydney Morning Herald, Subaru is working on an electric turbo, shades of those computer-fan-sourced "power adders" you used to see advertised in the back pages of Sport Compact Car a decade ago. Except we would assume Subie-parent Fuji Heavy Industries is developing a design that actually works. According to the report, heat from the exhaust would be captured, but instead of using the exhaust pressure to turn the turbocharger's turbine, the heat energy would be converted to electricity, which would then spin the impellers. This could be more efficient, as well as eliminating the piping and turbo lag.
While that sounds neat and all, we're not so sure we want to see an unproven technology like this applied to one of our favorite affordable performance cars. Unless, of course, it allows for BMW M3-like performance in a $30,000 car.
Dodge Dart, Chrysler Q1 sales, FR-S and BRZ versus MX-5, 2013 Nissan Altima's Hyundai Sonata influence
Episode #279 of the Autoblog Podcast is here, and this week, Chris, Dan, and Zach chat about the Dodge Dart, Chrysler's first-quarter 2012 sales, a Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ smackdown at Motegi with a Mazda MX-5, and the influence of the Hyundai Sonata on the 2013 Nissan Altima. Your questions and comments power the end of the 'cast, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. We've embedded our Q&A module after the jump for you to scroll through and follow along, too. Thanks for listening!
Autoblog Podcast #280:
Lamborghini Urus
Dodge Dart
Scion FR-S vs. Subaru BR-Z vs. Mazda MX-5 Miata
Chrysler sales robust in Q1, especially in California
Nissan Altima redesign influenced by Hyundai Sonata
In the Autoblog Garage
2012 Hyundai Veloster
2012 Audi S5
2012 GMC Acadia
Hosts: Dan Roth, Chris Shunk, Zach Bowman
Runtime: 01:41:32
Get the podcast
[UStream] Listen live on Mondays at 10PM Eastern at UStream
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes
[RSS] Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator
We record Episode #280 of the Autoblog Podcast tonight, and you can drop us your questions via our Q&A module below, and chime in to direct our conversation. Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes if you haven't already done so, and if you want to take it all in live, tune in to our UStream (audio only) channel at 10:00 PM Eastern tonight.
Discussion Topics for Autoblog Podcast Episode #280
Dodge Dart
Scion FR-S vs. Subaru BR-Z vs. Mazda MX-5 Miata
Chrysler sales robust in Q1, especially in California
Nissan Altima redesign influenced by Hyundai Sonata
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes
[RSS] Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator
The Subaru BRZ might be most appreciated for reintroducing the adjectives "small," "light" and "fun" to those who prefer not to have a convertible top with their Japanese sports car. Yet, as has been covered before, it's a neat example of packaging, with Subaru engineers having put big ideas into the BRZ's small spaces. The Japanese automaker has knocked together 22 minutes of behind-the-scenes chats with the engineers who made the BRZ to show you how they did it, and how they managed to pack all of the handling and safety bits around the fun bits.
This should come as no surprise, but the video is in Japanese with English subtitles, but it's worth the extra effort. It's in two parts and you'll find both by scrolling below.
Continue reading Subaru spills all the beans on BRZ development with new documentary
Our colleagues at Consumer Reports, when not professing their love for all things Toyota, have recently taken a real shine to Subarus. First they crowned the 2012 Impreza the top small sedan, while elevating the Subaru brand to the top of the 2012 CR ratings. Now comes this surprisingly entertaining "first look" video featuring the 2013 BRZ.
CR loved hot-shoeing the BRZ around the track, of course. As we've seen, this car is fun enough that anyone with a pulse should be able to enjoy it. But more importantly, the magazine answered a few important questions about the car's suitability for the low-budget racing crowd. Those that might be interested in campaigning a BRZ in local autocross events or track days will be happy to know that a helmeted, six-foot-tall driver can fit inside the car with proper head clearance. Equally as important, the BRZ's stability control can be switched entirely off, enabling the kinds of power slides that are great fun but sure to place you last in your SCCA Solo II class behind all the Miatas, Z cars and E36 M3's.
Go ahead and scroll down to watch the whole video.
So there's good news and bad. First with the good: Subaru's BRZ configurator has gone live. As we've already reported, the base model starts from $25,495 including destination. Now with the bad: We hope you have fun with the configurator, Scooby fans, because that may be all you'll have for quite some time. According to FT-86Club, demand for the rear-drive-sports-car-for-the-everyman has been so high that Japanese market deliveries have been delayed until January 2013.
While the report says it's "unclear" whether this will affect the U.S.-market BRZ or its Scion FR-S twin, with demand reportedly four times higher than Subaru parent Fuji Heavy Industries forecast, it's a good bet that neither brand's dealers will have a surfeit of cars.
