2015 Subaru Impreza on 2040-cars

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Subaru Levorg STI Sport prototype revealed with barely more aggressive looks

The Subaru Levorg STI Sport prototype has been revealed at the Tokyo Auto Salon. We were expecting something that added some extra ferocity to the regular Levorg concept shown a few months ago at the Tokyo Motor Show. Instead, we have a wagon that's just barely different at all. The body itself appears unchanged with the sole exception of new fog lights in the lower front fascia. There are STI details sprinkled about, such as the trademark pink badges in the grille and on the hatch. The exhaust also features the logo stamped in the tips. And of course it gets unique wheels from the original prototype. The good news is that the Levorg was already handsome and sporty, but we would have liked to see a little more. Subaru remains mum on mechanical details. We know it will come standard with a new turbocharged 1.8-liter flat-four engine and of course all-wheel drive. We expect it will also have a version of the FA20 2.0-liter turbo engine from the WRX as an option. And speaking of the WRX, the current Levorg shares most of its bodywork with the sports sedan, so when the new generation launches it should look like this wagon. Related Video:    

2015 Subaru WRX STI photos hit the web early

Wing? Check. WR Blue? Yep. Gold wheels? Aw, yeah. Ladies and gentlemen, meet the 2015 Subaru WRX STI, which has leaked out ahead of its Detroit Auto Show debut, courtesy of Mexican website Terra Autos.
We don't have any firm details to go on, but as we reported earlier, the STI is expected to use a turbocharged, 2.5-liter boxer four producing something like 300 to 305 horsepower and 290 pound-feet of torque. (Note: The standard WRX uses a new, Forester-derived 2.0-liter engine.) Expect the usual host of STI fitments, including a more performance-oriented suspension tune and upgraded brakes, but don't expect a five-door variant - like the WRX, the STI will be a sedan-only affair.
Check out the leaked shots of the new STI in the gallery above, and stay tuned for all of the official details next week.

Toyota GT86 engineers explored shooting brake and sedan variants, are they still in the cards?

According to the Toyota UK blog, engineers for the automaker were so excited developing the GT86 coupe that they investigated producing a whole family of models based on the rear-wheel drive sports car. And at least one engineer - product chief Tetsuya Tada - still hopes it can happen, even if not everyone at Toyota is onboard. Tada: "Actually we tried to do this secretly but the executives found us out. They said: 'What are you doing? Will you please focus on the coupe.'"
Those mooted variants included both a four-door sedan and a shooting brake. Why? Aside from the pure excellence of a lightweight, brilliantly handling hatchback, Toyota was keenly aware of the fact that it may need to spread the cost of development out across several models. Tada says that's part of the reason why it was so easy to create the convertible. The company knew from the outset that a softtop version was in the cards, and built the machine's structure to accommodate having the roof sliced off.
Tada also made mention of the already-announced collaboration between Toyota and BMW. The engineer said that the GT86 was particularly helpful because it demonstrated just how successful a product conceived and designed by two different companies can be. While he didn't say exactly what Toyota and BMW are up to, it's clear the two are looking into a number of possibilities. It's an interesting read with a lot of