2002 02 Subaru Forester Non Smoker No Reserve Clean Low Miles Awd 4x4 on 2040-cars

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Subaru fights sticker shock with financing deal on $65,000 WRX STI S209

Subaru's American division has come a long way since it peddled the tiny 360 during the late 1960s. The limited-edition, $65,000 WRX STI S209 unveiled during the 2019 Detroit Auto Show is its most expensive car yet, so the company is taking steps to make it a little bit more accessible. The Japanese firm sent its American dealers a bulletin announcing the S209 is eligible for 3.49% APR for up to 63 months, according to CarsDirect. The publication noted that rate amounts to monthly payments of $1,131 over 63 months, which adds up to $71,231. Buyers are still forking over more than $6,000 to the bank, but they're saving about $4,700 compared to a 6% loan. That's a substantial amount of money to drop on a WRX STI; it's priced in Audi TT RS territory. For the money, enthusiasts get one of the rarest street-legal cars Subaru has ever produced. After driving it, we called it the fastest, sharpest-handling, and most sophisticated WRX ever to grace our shores. It's powered by a 2.5-liter flat-four engine turbocharged to 341 horsepower and 330 pound-feet of torque, generous increases of 31 and 40, respectively, over the regular WRX STI. We'll let you decide whether exclusivity and power are worth a roughly $22,000 premium. If you want an S209 in your driveway, act fast because production is strictly limited to 209 examples, and odds are the entire batch will be spoken for sooner rather than later. Keep in mind dealers will be tempted to slap a markup on the car due to its rarity, so you might need to spend more — in some cases, a lot more — than the number listed on the window sticker. Featured Gallery 2020 Subaru WRX STI S209 View 41 Photos Auto News Subaru Car Buying

Subaru weighing Outback vs Forester approach for seven-seater

Subaru is gearing up for a return to the seven-seat crossover segment, and it's focusing the new model on the US market, but just which approach it will take has yet to be decided. One possibility, according to Automotive News, would be to position it as a larger counterpart to the Outback wagon, with rugged off-road styling. The other would be to sell it as a big brother to the Forester, with cleaner styling. One thing Subaru most definitely does not want to repeat is the Tribeca fiasco, so we wouldn't expect the new model to carry that same nameplate. Introduced in 2006, the Tribeca's divisive front-end styling kept it from being a serious player, and it underwent a facelift only two years later. It was withdrawn from the market altogether after 2014. The company had targeted moving 36,000 units of the Tribeca each year, but sold fewer than 2,800 in America in 2011, barely over 2,000 in 2012, less than 1,600 in 2013 and just a few hundred in 2014. The new seven-seat crossover will go after the likes of the Toyota Highlander, Nissan Pathfinder and new Honda Pilot among three-row Japanese crossovers. Like those rivals, it will be built in the US for the US market – namely at Subaru's assembly plant in Indiana, the same state where the Highlander is produced. The new crossover's arrival will, according to reports, mean that the Levorg wagon offered in Japan and Europe won't be offered Stateside. Related Video:

Toyota GT86 GT4 racer is ready for UK competition

It's about time we saw someone cook up a legitimate race version of the delectable Toyota GT86, and now it looks as if GPRM has done just that. The Buckingham-based race engineering team has built the creation you see here, complete with a turbocharged 2.0-liter, direct-injection four-cylinder boxer cooked up by Nicholson McLaren Engines. The team says the new mill delivers between 360 and 400 horsepower to the rear wheels depending on final testing, which is a sight bit more than the 197 horses the naturally aspirated stock mill offers.
The car will compete in GT4 events, including the Avon Tyres British GT Championship. Technically, the GPRM effort isn't factory backed, but the team says the effort "has the blessing of Toyota Great Britain." How could it not? You can check out the brief press release below below, and be sure to take a closer look at the machine in our gallery.