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2021 Subaru WRX STI to pack 400 horsepower?

The next-generation Subaru WRX STI may boast as much as 400 horsepower from a re-tuned, 2.4L turbocharged boxer engine, making it the most powerful factory STI ever to be offered in America.  Forbes reports that an upgraded version of the engine currently offered in the three-row Subaru Ascent crossover will power the new model, rather than the 2.0-liter unit that powers the current WRX or the 2.5L found in the current STI.   According to the report, which cites an unnamed source close to Subaru, the company's engineers are hard at work beefing up the FA24 turbocharged boxer to coax 400 horses and 361 pound-feet of torque from an engine that currently offers just 260 horsepower and 277 lb-ft of torque in family-hauling tune.  While Subaru has been building high-output WRX and STI models for its home market for decades, this would be the first time a 400-horsepower STI would be offered for sale in the U.S. In fact, it would become the most powerful Subaru sold here, period. That honor currently belongs to the 341-horsepower 2019 STI S209, which is incredibly rare (and correspondingly expensive). It followed closely on the heels of the STI Type RA, which was similarly difficult to obtain, but not nearly as powerful or expensive.  Limited (as its name suggests) to just 209 units, the S209 was offered for only one model year at an eye-watering MSRP of $64,880. Customers are still taking delivery of their cars, as STI's tuning shop can only crank out a small handful per day. If it seems like Subaru has been taking its sweet time introducing a new WRX and STI, that's because development of the hotter models diverged from that of the base Impreza prior to the launch of the latter's latest generation. Subaru considers them independent models, and while they still share platform commonalities, they are no longer treated as a single product line. Current models are still loosely based on the last-generation Impreza, and the best hint we have as to the future of the WRX and STI is the Viziv Performance STI concept, which debuted at the Tokyo Auto Salon back in 2018. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

2015 Subaru BRZ tS First Drive [w/video]

The Subaru BRZ is a brilliant driver's car: lightweight, rear-wheel-drive, tactile, nimble and fluid at speed. In terms of qualities that allow for dazzling point-to-point performance, it lacks only power and intense mechanical grip. In the US, options for tuning the BRZ to amplify its strengths or diminish its weaknesses are mostly found in the aftermarket. In Japan, meanwhile, driving enthusiasts can start with the factory-tuned model you see above: the BRZ tS. Designed and built with the engineering prowess of Subaru Tecnica International, the limited-edition tS is tuned for track competence over and above that of the base model. The intent of the tS wasn't lost on me as I stared over the front fender towards Turn 1 at Japan's Suzuka Circuit. Not just a proper place to test STI's claims of increased handling brilliance for its BRZ tune, but a perfect one. Suzuka is challenging – fast and technical in equal measure – and a playground for sorting out the margin of improvement from the standard that BRZ I know so well. Wait, Why Am I Here? Of course, Subaru didn't invite me and a half-dozen other motoring journalists to Japan for an academic exercise in JDM hotness. We were there at the behest of STI, as a first step in what will undoubtedly be a deliciously drawn-out expansion of the performance brand in North America. STI started life as the motorsports division for Subaru-parent Fuji Heavy Industries. But chances are good that you, like me, first encountered the three-letter-logo as a Cherry Blossom Red punctuation mark at the end of a WRX road or rally car. The world came to know STI through Subaru's 1990s WRC dominance and prominence in the Gran Turismo franchise. But outside of Japan the significance of the initials was known more as the designation of the top-dog Impreza, rather than a motorsport and performance engineering unit. The company is set on changing that and building STI into a performance brand that's as easily recognizable in America as M and AMG are today. That message was delivered a body in the STI Concept car at the New York Auto Show earlier this week, but as I mentioned then, we don't expect Subaru to turn up with a production-ready BRZ STI next year. First STI will deploy its parts catalog to the US, removing the half-hearted Subaru Performance Tuning parts business in the process. Next, according to a vague timeline presented in Japan, Subaru will offer a car like the tS to US customers in approximately 18 months.

Toyota, Lexus dominate KBB's Best Resale Value Awards

Toyota and Lexus stormed the 2014 Kelley Blue Book Best Resale Value Awards, winning a combined 18 categories including best brand and best luxury brand. This marks the third year in a row that both automakers have won the Brand and Luxury Brand resale value awards. In all, Toyota won 11 categories and Lexus won seven.
Honda made a good showing, as well, winning two segments (Accord Plug-In Hybrid and Civic Si) and putting one car on the top-10 Best Resale Value list (CR-V). Chevrolet did even better, winning two segments (with the V6 Camaro and the Corvette) and placing three cars on the top-10-overall list (again, the Camaro and Corvette, plus the Silverado 1500).
The other winners came from Jeep, Dodge, Infiniti, Subaru and Audi. To give you a clearer picture of the Toyota and Lexus domination, their 18 mentions represents more than half of the 34 awards (including the top-10-overall list).