Subaru has gained itself quite a cult following with performance Imprezas. Based on its victories in the World Rally Championship, the WRX and STi versions of the Impreza have been a big hit with the gonzo street-racer crowd. With the introduction of the latest STi, Subaru left a gaping hole between the mighty fast 224-hp WRX ($24,350) and the super-fast 305-hp WRX STi ($34,995). Since more customers will want to upgrade from the WRX than can afford the $10k+ leap to the STi, Subaru is reportedly considering slotting a new model in between the two, which could come in a little under $30k and offer about 265 horses under hood.
The report comes from our friends down under at Drive.co.au, who were speaking with Nick Senior of Subaru Australia. According to Senior, parent company Fuji Heavy Industries "has a fair bit on its plate" at the moment, alluding to the reported upcoming Celica which Subaru is developing with partner Toyota, so we shouldn't expect a mid-level WRX anytime soon, but it is on Subaru's radar screen for the future. Senior also said we can expect Subaru to churn out some special-editions, like a stripped-out STi track car, so stay tuned.
The rumor mill is up and running again this week, churning out reports of a new Toyota Celica. While the Toyota line-up once included a variety of sports-coupes, since the cancellation of the Supra, MR2 and Celica, it's had nothing but sedans, hatchbacks, vans and trucks to offer. Rumor has it that a new Celica is on the way, to be built by Subaru, in whose parent company Fuji Heavy Industries Toyota acquired significant stake back in 2005.
If reports out of Japan's BestCar are to be believed, the new Celica will come in two versions: the base GT, with a naturally-aspirated 2-liter Subaru boxer four driving the rear wheels, and a hopped-up GT-Four version with the 300-hp turbo engine from the JDM Impreza STi and all-wheel-drive. The GT-Four could also be a sort of performance hybrid, gaining small electric motors in each of the four wheels. Both the GT and GT-Four are tipped to be available in either two-door or three-door bodystyles, since the Impreza is offered only as a sedan and five-door for this current generation. The new Celica, the styling of which could draw on the FT-HS concept car from last year's Detroit show (pictured above), is reportedly being readied for a launch in Japan next year.
After amassing a healthy lead over their competitors, Subaru Rally Team USA driver Travis Pastrana and co-driver Christian Edstrom were able to play it cool for the second to last stage of the 2008 SnoDrift Rally last weekend. All was well as they made their way through the forest roads and fresh powder until one of God's creatures decided that now would be a good time to cross the ice-covered stage road. As the 2007 WRX STI careened down the road at over 60 mph, Bambi colliding with Pastrana's left front bumper, causing irreparable damage to the engine and ending the team's race as the Subaru coasted to a stop. We're not sure if it was Pastrana or Edstrom who let out the shriek just as the deer hit, but we've got to give them points for using far fewer expletives than we would've.
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Thumbing through the last issue of 0-60, one of the car-guyiest car mags around, I turned the page and saw an image that stopped me cold. Mother of pearl, a Subaru rally car flying through the air at a snowboard park. How is that even possible? We've all seen imagery of airborne rally cars, but the cruising altitude is usually just a couple feet. These shots depict serious flight. General Lee, Bo and Luke Duke flight. $150,000 worth of machinery being treated as the Greatest. Snowmobile. Evar.
It turns out 0-60 contributor and driver extrodinaire Ken Block was behind the wheel of that car, flying off jumps intended for snowboarders with 3,000 pounds of machinery as part of the shoot for the DC Shoes production MTN.LAB 1.5. Hit the jump for more, and to see some of the jaw-dropping video.
Two days in New Zealand with cameras sprinkled about and helicopter fly-bys nets you a supremely well done video. Who hasn't wanted to be this antisocial with their car, too? There's plenty of scenes where the choreography between car and snowboarder is worthy of Busby Berkeley, but the kicker is the end. Huge ramp, huge landing ramp, too much speed. The result, great images, but a busted up rally car and a fractured vertebrae. Ouch. Check the video from 0-60 below, and there's three more at DC's website.
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After a two-year effort to launch the twelfth team on the Formula One grid, Prodrive has finally conceded to the phrase "Give up all hope, Ye who enter here!". Prodrive boss Dave Richards had protracted negotiations with McLaren about buying their chassis and Mercedes-Benz engines. Objections, however, to customer programs from teams such as Williams resulted in a new Concorde Agreement that killed the plan. As a result, Dave Richards, having seen what happened to Tom Walkinshaw a few years ago, decided against sacrificing his entire business empire and will instead re-focus the company on GT racing and the World Rally Championship. Richards himself will again take a hands-on role in leading the Subaru WRC team that was so successful under his guidance in the 1990s. It's a shame it didn't happen, but it's probably for the best given past history.
Today in Detroit we finally got to see the long-anticipated (by some of us at least) 2009 Subaru Forester that was revealed on Christmas Day. We've covered the JDM version and the US model pretty extensively, but now we have a few live shots of this fun and funky CUV for those who like that sort of thing. As we've already revealed, US customers will have their choice of naturally-aspirated and turbocharged versions of the same 2.5L boxer four-cylinder engine that has been offered in the past, although they've been reworked for more low-end torque.
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According to poster jmk2888 at the EvolutionM.net forums, the car you see here is indeed the 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart. The poster, who indicates that he works for Mitsubishi in California, says that the car was in the lot briefly but is now "on the way to an auto show." Funny, we happen to be going to an auto show next week, so let's assume the Lancer Ralliart's on its way to Detroit for its official unveiling.
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