Straightline

If you've ever faced the prospect of driving through snow in a Subaru WRX STI with stock summer tires, you will really appreciate the TRAX STI. And you will also realize that Ken Block's chutzpah is bottomless. He'll try anything once. Now he's gone and put snowcat tracks on his STI rally car.

This is the preview video of a test run near his Utah mountain home. A longer, more death-defying video is undoubtedly in the works.

In addition to the special (and specially awesome at that) tracks, the TRAX has a reworked suspension (shocker) with Group N-type dampers made by the UK-based company EXE-TC, along with a version of the 2.5-liter turbo boxer four good for 400 hp -- and, no doubt, a great deal of torque. The transmission is a 5-speed dog 'box.

Not shown here is the optional sleigh that hitches to the back of the TRAX STI and transports up to four snowboarders and their boards. Snowboarding, you'll be unsurprised to learn, is another of Block's passions.

Categories: Celebrities,Motorsports,Subaru

According to a report on 7Tune.com, Subaru's version of the FT-86 sportscar will get more than just new badges to differentiate it from its Toyota sibling. Instead of rear-wheel drive, Subaru's car will use an all-wheel drive setup along with a turbocharged version of the boxer four-cylinder engine. The Subaru sportscar will also get a slightly larger body and most likely a substantially higher price.

7Tune

Categories: Coupes,Future Vehicles,Sports Cars,Subaru,Toyota

If you go to auto shows, you know that Subaru always parks a rally car at the entrance to its booth. At international shows, it has typically been a WRC car; at U.S. shows, it's a Rally Team USA car.

But now there's no WRC team to promote, so the company had two choices: its Super GT racecar "based on"/"inspired by" the 2010 Subaru Legacy, or the Nurburgring 24 Hours WRX STI. For the Tokyo show, Subaru chose the former (fitting since the Super GT series is run in Japan and Malaysia), though the Nurburgring STI is also at the show.

The Super GT Legacy ran 3 races in 2009 in the 300-hp GT300 class (for reference, the Super GT "Nissan GT-R" competes in the GT500 class where the limit is of course 500 hp). Subaru Tecnica International supplies the turbocharged, 1994cc EJ20 boxer four-cylinder engine for the Legacy GT300, along with a six-speed sequential transmission -- which drives all four wheels, because it's a Subaru, at least in name, so it has Symmetrical All Wheel Drive. The Japanese company R&D Sport designed the chassis for the Super GT Legacy.

The car's racing future is in doubt, though, as Mitsuhiro Matsumoto, director and senior vice president of STI, told journalists, "Participation in Super GT is not yet decided for 2010."

Super GT Legacy specs

More photos of the Super GT Legacy and the 2009 Nurburgring 24 Hours STI after the jump (the latter, incidently, makes its permanent home at the STI Gallery at the Subaru dealership in Mitaka, Japan).

Erin Riches, Senior Editor

Continue reading Super GT Legacy GT300 at the 2009 Tokyo Auto Show.

Categories: Motorsports,Subaru,Tokyo Motor Show

Updated at 9 AM PDT -- More Photos

We don't spend a lot of time talking about the Subaru Exiga, because this Japanese-style minivan probably won't ever come to the U.S. It's roomy enough all right (we sat in all three rows today) since it's based on the current Impreza/Legacy architecture, but the rear doors are all hinged and Subaru would rather sell us Tribecas.

Still, there are a couple of interesting specialty Exigas in its booth at the Tokyo auto show. The more eye-catching of the two is the Subaru Exiga 2.0GT tuned by STI. You'll hear people call this the Exiga STI, but it's far less of an STI than the Forester XTI concept shown at last year's SEMA show.

It has zero engine modifications and uses the same 221-hp, 2.0-liter turbocharged boxer-4 as the standard Exiga 2.0GT (the top trim in the range). It also has a five-speed automatic with shift paddles and downshift rev-matching like the U.S.-spec Legacy 3.6R.

The STI part of it comes from the fact that Subaru Tecnica International put on its own springs and dampers, along with a strut tower brace. The wheels are different, too, but still just 17s like the stock alloys. And obviously, there's a body kit and flashier exhaust tips. Although the showcar concept is done up by STI for Tokyo, Subaru plans to put this Exiga into production -- no surprise at all considering there's already a very similar version of the Japanese-spec Legacy 2.5GT wagon.

More worthy of your attention is the Exiga EyeSight technology exhibit, as it has an interesting new safety system that will eventually make it to U.S.-market Subarus. More on this Exiga after the jump.

Continue reading Subaru Exiga 2.0GT Tuned by STI and Exiga EyeSight at the 2009 Tokyo Auto Show.

Categories: Minivans,Subaru,Tokyo Motor Show

We already told you all there is to know about the Subaru WRX STI Carbon. It's just a concept. And it's just the Japanese-market WRX STI A-line ("A" is for automatic) with carbon-fiber roof. But the car got a steady stream of visitors today in Tokyo, so it's one of the bigger, flashier fish in this small pond.

What's more, all that simulated suede on the dash is nicely executed. Lots of it after the jump.

Erin Riches, Senior Editor

Continue reading Subaru WRX STI Carbon at 2009 Tokyo Auto Show.

Categories: Concept Vehicles,Hatchbacks,Subaru,Tokyo Motor Show

There are two separate stories about the Subaru Hybrid Tourer making its debut here in Tokyo. The first is the obvious one. This is a hybrid. It showcases the in-house hybrid system that Subaru will bring to worldwide production in 2012, likely as an additional model within the Impreza or Legacy lines.

This will be a setup like in the Honda Insight, wherein you have a gas engine (a 2.0-liter, turbocharged and direct-injected boxer-4, in this case), a continuously variable transmission (the Lineartronic CVT) and a front-drive electric motor packaged between those two.

However, the Hybrid Tourer also has genuine symmetrical all-wheel drive, so the gas engine drives the rear wheels, too. At least in theory, the concept has a driveshaft and center clutch pack built into its flat floor. There's a rear-drive electric motor in the back, too. Subaru officials are adamant that any hybrid production car would have a true all-wheel-drive setup.

But the other story about the Hybrid Tourer is just as interesting. In talking with Osamu Namba, general manager of Subaru design, we learned that this car represents the next design direction for all Subaru models.

We'll walk you through it after the jump.

Continue reading Subaru Hybrid Tourer at the 2009 Tokyo Auto Show.

Categories: Concept Vehicles,Hybrids,Subaru,Tokyo Motor Show,Trends

Honestly, we haven't the slightest idea what this new Subaru commercial has to do with the Outback. But--let's just say--we can relate.

Categories: Subaru

Categories: Coupes,Future Vehicles,Sports Cars,Subaru,Tokyo Motor Show,Toyota

The New Year's Eve stunt show theatrics will continue in 2010 as Travis Pastrana plans to jump a rally car from a Long Beach pier onto a floating barge. The stunt is being billed as the world's longest jump in a rally car and will span roughly 250 feet of open water.

Pastrana told the Associated Press, ""Our goal is to make this as authentic as possible. I want to use a really close-to-production Subaru, not some super high-tech ramp or super high-tech car. Just a full-on, old-school stunt. And definitely I want to drive out of it, too."

AP: Pastrana to jump from pier to barge in record try

Categories: Celebrities,Motorsports,Subaru

Autosport magazine is reporting that Ken Block is close to signing a deal to drive in the World Rally Championship (WRC) next year. The deal would be a three-year agreement with Ford and Monster Energy. Block would run a limited season in a 2009-spec Focus next year and then expand to a full season the following year. 

Full Test: 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STI by Ken Block

Autosport via Autoblog
 

Categories: Ford,Motorsports,Subaru,Tuners and Modifications

Yes, this is theToyota/Subaru coupe you've all been waiting to see. Dubbed the Toyota FT-86, this concept is headed for the 2009 Tokyo Auto Show in a couple of weeks.

We don't have much in the way of details just yet, but our correspondent in Japan says the FT-86 is about what we expected. By that we mean it's most likely based on a modified Subaru Impreza platform that has been converted to rear-wheel drive and is powered by a Subaru-built 2.0-liter flat four. The suspension consists of struts up front and double wishbones in back.

Inside, the FT-86 is configured as a 2+2 which probably makes for a tight cabin given that it's only 164-inches overall, 63-inches wide and 50-inch tall. For comparison, a Honda Civic coupe is 175-inches long, 68.9-inches wide and 55-inches tall.

Categories: Concept Vehicles,Coupes,Future Vehicles,Sports Cars,Subaru,Tokyo Motor Show,Toyota

The expected slow September after Cash-for-Clunkers August came to pass, and you can get the full, brand-by-brand analysis on Auto Observer. Hyundai/Kia was the major bright spot, as the company continued its record-setting 2009 pace: It sold 55,134 vehicles -- a 26-percent year-over-year increase from September 2008.

Ford saw its year-over-year sales decline slightly, but was still encouraged by its third-quarter results -- sales were up 5 percent compared to 3rd-quarter 2008 and incentive spending decreased by an average of $1,400 per vehicle. Plus, the company's market share was 15 percent for September compared to 14 percent a year ago.

Among the exceptions for September was BMW, which saw its first year-over-year increase of 2009, selling 19,175 vehicles for an increase of 3.6 percent. The other manufacturer on its way to a record year, Subaru, recorded steady sales for September. It sold 14,593 vehicles for an increase of 1 percent (citing a 63-percent increase in Outback sales and +24% for the Legacy); Subaru is up 10 percent for all of 2009 with 158,421 units sold. Volkswagen saw a 1.5-percent year-over-year increase for September, selling 17,358 vehicles.

Finally, respectable Boxster and Cayman demand kept the Cayenne from dragging down Porsche, which sold 1,581 vehicles -- an increase of 8.4 percent.

Auto Observer: Automakers Eager to Move Past September's Tepid Sales

Categories: Auto Industry,BMW,Ford,Hyundai,Kia,Manufacturers,Porsche,Subaru,Volkswagen

Here it is, the all-wheel-drive hybrid Subaru that has been the subject of so much speculation. We're sure Toyota had some involvement in this one, given its current position as Hybrid Overlord of Planet Earth.

Details are sketchy, but Subaru says Hybrid Tourer concept has a turbocharged and direct-injected version of its 2.0-liter horizontally-opposed four-cylinder as the gasoline power source. It joins forces with a 10-kilowatt front-drive electric motor and Subaru's Lineartronic continuously variable transmission (CVT). In back, there is a 20-kilowatt rear-drive electric motor. Add them together and you get all-wheel drive, though not in the usual Subaru sense since there would be no center differential. But this is exactly how Toyota creates "AWD" in the Lexus RX 450h and Highlander Hybrid.

Batteries are of the lithium-ion variety.

More photos after the jump.

2009 Tokyo Auto Show: Subaru Takes Wing With Hybrid Tourer Concept

Continue reading Tokyo Preview: Subaru Hybrid Tourer Concept.

Categories: Concept Vehicles,Green Tech,Hybrids,Subaru,Tokyo Motor Show

Like most show cars with carbon fiber on them, the Subaru Impreza WRX STI Carbon is meant to draw a certain demographic of auto show attendee over to the Subaru stand. You know who we're talking about. Subaru claims the carbon fiber roof on this car provides a "significant weight reduction" and a "lower center of gravity," but doesn't give any hard numbers. Given that this STI, part of the Japan-spec A-line series, has the company's five-speed automatic transmission (with paddle shifters!), we suspect it might be more about appearances than numbers.

The STI Carbon also has a lovely suede dash, and yes, those JDM-spec Recaros that we can't have in the U.S.

More photos after the jump.

Continue reading Tokyo Preview: Subaru Impreza WRX STI Carbon.

Categories: Hatchbacks,Subaru,Tokyo Motor Show

A rumor on a UK web site suggests Subaru might kill off non-STI versions of the Impreza WRX in 2010, at least in the UK.

The story goes on to add that the subcompact Justy hatchback is also a goner, along with the cheapy front-drive versions of the base Impreza sold in Japan and elsewhere. Ostensibly, the reasoning behind such moves would be for the company to redirect its focus on higher-performance versions of the STI (like the UK-only variations co-developed with Prodrive), and says the report, on diesel technology. The story ends on a hopeful note with the suggestion that a twin-turbocharged version of the company's boxer diesel is in the works.

So far as we know, though, there's nothing to this story. "I cannot comment on global FHI future plans, but the WRX will continue for the U.S. market," Dominick Infante, manager of public relations for Subaru of America, told us.

Channel 4, NASIOC

Categories: Subaru