Archive for Subaru

Subaru’s controversial aircraft propellor-inspired grille that has appeared on the Subaru Tribeca and the Subaru Impreza will be tossed out the window with the next generation of models. I think it’s safe to say that most of us think the new grille is not exactly the most pleasing design to look at. It’s even been called “The Flying Vagina”.

The upcoming Subaru Impreza to be released in both sedan and hatchback form will feature yet another new corporate grille, which I hope is much more better looking than the current weird grille, though topping the current grille in a beauty contest isn’t exactly the hardest thing in the world to do.

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AutoExpress reports that the next generation Subaru Impreza will not be abandoning it’s sedan form, instead it will be offered as both as hatchback and classic sedan form! The 5-door hatchback variation of the Subaru Impreza will come first in the UK summer 2007, while the sedan version will come soon after.

All wheel drive and boxer engines will be standard, but Subaru is also developing a turbodiesel boxer which might find it’s way into this car, given Europe’s diesel affinity.

A concept version of the Subaru Impreza hatchback will be revealed at the 2007 Geneva Auto Show early next year. Design cues will likely come from the Subaru B5 concept shown above.

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2008 Subaru Impreza to be a hatch

Subaru is offering Sti tuning kits for both the Subaru Legacy B4 2.0 GT spec.B sedan and the Subaru Legacy Wagon 2.0 GT spec.B. The GT spec.B is already packs a nice 280 horsepower boxer engine, so modifications cover the package does not include any engine modifications but upgades the car’s interior, suspension, brakes and some other aesthetic upgrades. More details and photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Subaru Legacy STi

Subaru has had enormous success with their recent small car, the Subaru Stella in Japan. Subaru had originally set a target for 5,000 units per month in orders for the Stella, but it managed to surpass that goal within it’s first week on the market, clocking up 5,438 orders by June 20th 2006. This shows a shift in the automotive industry particularly in Japan towards small K-cars or superminis. The Subaru Stella comes with 660cc inline-4 engines options either in normally aspirated or supercharged form. This engine is mated to an i-CVT (intelligent continuously variable transmission) gearbox.

The soaring gas prices are likely to set the world purchasing trends rolling towards smaller cars as well. Toyota and Subaru are now jointly developing a new B-segment small car, which will debut likely in the year 2008. The car will be built by Toyota but will be marketed under the Subaru badge, likely in the European market only.

The Star reported recently that vendors have urged the Malaysian Government to limit incentives for CBU vehicles of over 3,000cc. A local motoring analyst said the entry of more CBU vehicles might have a negative impact on parts vendors in the long term as the industry matures to produce more high-powered vehicles. I disagree with this local motoring analyst and think this is highly unlikely, since purchasing trends have actually been moving towards smaller cars with better fuel economy.

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It’s time to be amused by the little fun car manufacturers overseas have poking and prodding each other thanks to their bitchy (in a good way) creative agencies.

Do you remember that little grey monster thingy that Volkswagen is using to promote it’s Volkswagen Golf GTI? Volkswagen calls it a Fast, and it’s supposed to be that desire inside of you for speed, acceleration, G forces, the sound of a roaring engine and all that.

I’m pretty sure a Fast would not be very happy with the silent Tesla Roadster. Anyway, this is what Subaru thinks about Volkswagen’s Fast. You can click on the image for a larger version. Enjoy!

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Subaru will be changing the all too familiar sedan shape of it’s rally-inspired Subaru Impreza car to a hatchback form when it’s next incarnation is introduced in 2008. We’ve kind of known this was going to happen when Subaru showed us the Subaru B5-TPH Concept at the 2005 Tokyo Motor Show.

Shown above is an artist’s impression from Road & Track on how the Impreza hatch could possibly look like. This move is in line with Subaru’s plan to position the new Impreza hatch against hot hatches like the Golf GTI, Golf R32/R36 and the Ford Focus. A preview of the final production vehicle will be shown next year at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show. The car will come in both 3-door and 5-door models.

Engine options are expected to be a naturally aspirated 2.0 liter four-pot boxer producing 170 horsepower for the baseline model, and the WRX versions will have a turbocharged version under the hood. STi versions will have a higher performance turbocharged four-pot boxer producing over 300 horsepower.

There will also be four-pot boxer turbodiesel options, developed together with Toyota. Of course, the car will retain it’s trademark AWD drivetrain.

Top Gear tries out the Prodrive P2, Prodrive’s first entirely self-developed car using a Subaru Impreza turbocharged flat-four engine. The Prodrive P2 went from concept to a full working model in only 9 months. It’s a 2 seater, and features all wheel drive. The boxer engine gives it good power figures of 349PS and 575Nm of torque for a 1100kg car. And something I didn’t know, the Prodrive P2 was actually based on the Subaru R1 chassis. Check the video out after the jump!

Click here to read the rest of Top Gear Prodrive P2

Fuji Heavy Industries has just won a contract to supply high-speed chase cars for the Gerdarmerie Nationale police of France. Fuju Heavy Industries who manufactures Subaru cars, will supply 63 Subaru Impreza WRX cars to replace the “rapid interventio bridge” department’s existing Peugeot 306 S16 and Renault Megane Coupe high-speed chase cars. These cars could only go to a maximum of 190 km/h, but the new Subaru Impreza WRX can touch over 240 km/h, allowing the police force to keep up in the most high-paced chases where the driver of the vehicle has to be stopped immediately.

Subaru beat bidders from other French companies for the contract, and even though the police department is usually very loyal to French cars, this time French offerings were just not fast enough to match the WRX.

156 lucky police officers will be trained to drive these new Subaru Impreza WRX chase cars at the Bugatti racing circuit of Le Mans, in west France.

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While Subaru has decided to use Toyota hybrid technology in it’s efforts to improve fuel economy for it’s petrol-powered vehicles, it has decided to develop it’s own turbodiesel engine to address demands for diesel cars in markets like Europe.

Subaru’s new turbodiesel engine would be modular, and will be introduced as a 2.2 liter 4 cylinder boxer, as well as a 3.3 liter 6 cylinder boxer. Since it is modular, technically a 4.4 liter 8 cylinder boxer could also be possible. It will be designed to be compatible with Subaru’s all-wheel drive technology. There is currently no turbodiesel engine using the boxer (horizontally opposed) cylinder configuration in the world, so Subaru’s will be the first.

Subaru expects half of total Subaru sales in Europe to be diesel-powered by 2010. The engine is expected to be complete by 2007 or 2008. It will be developed by a 40-member R&D division based in Japan.

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Motor Image, a Tan Chong International Ltd company based in Singapore will be building Subaru Impreza rally cars together with Prodrive UK, the company behind the Subaru Rally Team. The rally cars will be produced at a new USD$15.4 million production facility in Singapore. They will be Group N vehicles, which are basically production vehicles but fitted with safety equipment incompliance with FIA’s rules and regulations for Group N rally cars. This will probably be Singapore’s first venture into the automotive industry. Production will begin at a rate of about 5 cars a month, and might increase to 15 in the near future.