Auto blog

Subaru takes another look back, this time at the 2004 WRX STI

Here we have the followup to the rally-mimicking Impreza 22B STI that Subaru recently chronicled in its Vintage Garage series: the 2004 Impreza WRX STI. Displacement for the boxer four was upped from 2.2 liters to 2.5, and after noticing how many buyers had installed larger turbochargers on their WRXs, Subaru decided to bolt on one in-house. That gave the final product 300 horsepower and a 0-to-60 mile-per-hour run of just 4.6 seconds.
It was stiffer, it's body from nose to front doors was penned by Peter Stephens, he of the McLaren F1, it came with a driver-controlled center differential, driver-activated cooling spray for the turbos and 300 pound-feet of torque. This is a curio from a time when, after a new WRX STI came out, you started poring through magazines to see how the Mitubishi Evo was going to respond. You can find out more about it in the video below.

Subaru unveils catchily named WRX STI tS Type RA in Japan

We feel safe in saying it's time for Subaru to step away from the keyboard for a spell. The company just unveiled this new WRX STI tS Type RA in Japan, and while the car features all sorts of tricks to help it stand out from the rest of the WRX rabble, it also boasts a name that looks like the product of a good old fashioned QWERTY Hulk smash. Nomenclature aside, this WRX STI features a revised suspension with tweaked springs and dampers as well as a faster steering ratio, Brembo brakes and a front strut tower brace.
JDM buyers can pick between the ever-sexy (if loud) Tangerine Orange Pearl paint seen here, Satin White Pearl or Blue Mica. There's also available NBR Challenge Package, complete with a set of Recaro front seats, a few carbon fiber aero bits and 18-inch BBS forged wheels wrapped in Bridgestone Potenza RE070 rubber. How's that for delicious?
Subaru is only planning to crank out 300 WRX STI tS Type RA units, two-thirds of which will carry the NBR goodies.

World Car Of The Year down to its final four

Judges for the World Car of the Year Award have narrowed down the finalists to just four vehicles. Out of a total of 42 entries, only the Mercedes-Benz A-Class, Porsche Boxster/Cayman, Scion FR-S/Subaru BRZ/Toyota GT-86 and Volkswagen Golf remain standing. For Volkswagen, this marks the second consecutive year the company has had an entry among the finalists, and the fourth time since 2009. In order to qualify, a vehicle must be on sale on two continents during the span of time between January 1, 2013 and May 30, 2013. A panel of 66 journalists from 23 countries then vote on the finalists.
Three vehicles have made the cut for the last round of voting on the 2013 World Performance Car as well, with the Cayman/Boxster and FR-S/BRZ/GT-86 running against the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta. Meanwhile, the Renault Zoe, Tesla Model S and Volvo V60 Plug-In Hybrid are duking it out for the World Green Car Award. Finally, the World Car Design of the Year Award is up for grabs between the Aston Martin Vanquish, Jaguar F-Type, and the Mazda6. Check out the full press release below. Overall winners will be presented at the 2013 New York Auto Show.