2019 Subaru Wrx Sti on 2040-cars

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Gymkhana 11 will be hosted by Travis Pastrana

Amidst the chaos and tragedy that has proliferated in 2020, American action sports legend Travis Pastrana has had a year of growth. In March, Subaru announced his return as a full-time rally driver, and this week, he announced that he will be the first person to host Gymkhana other than Ken Block. Pastrana has been assigned Gymkhana 11, and he'll be using a tuned Subaru WRX STI as his trusty steed. Block, Pastrana, and both of their families have participated in a fun challenge recently. In early May, Block set the stage at the Hoonigan Racing Division shop in Park City, Utah, with a makeshift Gymkhana GRiD-style course (Gymkhana GRiD was scheduled to return in 2020 before the Covid-19 pandemic). He used a Can-Am Maverick X3, and his kids and wife filmed him ripping through the course. At the end of the video, he called on Pastrana to attempt a superior answer.   And Pastrana delivered. Using a hot dog suit, a Can-Am Maverick X3, a kids kart, a Subaru WRX STI, and a Harley-Davidson with a sidecar, the Pastranas executed their own course with dirt track jumps, wheelies, burnouts and two-wheel driving. The competition wouldn't be complete without judging, so that was left up to the viewers. In online voting, audiences preferred Pastrana's performance more than Block's video at a 288 votes to 140 votes, as of this writing.  It seems the challenge was a lead-up to this week's announcement posted to Pastrana's Instagram: Got some awesome news today! @kblock43 passed the torch to me for Gymkhana 11. I have some big shoes to fill but more than excited to give it a go. Kens guidelines for me are pretty simple. Keep the essence of Gymkhana with -epic vehicle -unattainable location -precision driving with close proximity to catastrophe. The @vermont.sportscar team has already started work on building the baddest #subaru of all time. Need to find a location that I can make this car fly and drive it like I stole it. #gameon #nopressure @subarumotorsportsusa are you guys ready for this!!! @yokohamatire I’m going to need a lot of tires ?? @hooniganracing @redbull @dirtfishrally Vermont SportsCar is the technical partner to Subaru of America and has been the hub for Subaru Motorsports USA since 2005, so there's no question Pastrana's WRX will be monumental. As part of the event, there is also a competition to win a chance to be at the filming of Gymkhana 11 and hang with Pastrana. All proceeds go to a good cause.

Next-gen Subaru WRX STI due next year with new engine, new platform

We just covered Japan's updated Subaru Impreza, which naturally has everyone wondering about a new WRX, the current fourth-generation on sale since 2014. According to a story in Japan's Best Car magazine, the fifth generation arrives late next year with a new platform and engine as part of the automaker's Japanese-market overhaul of the WRX STI, JDM-only WRX S4, and Levorg wagon. The STI is expected to switch from the current turbocharged EJ20 boxer-four to a direct-injection FA20 boxer-four engine with output of around 315 horsepower. Note, the Japanese-market WRX STI uses a 2.0-liter engine, the U.S version gets the 2.5-liter EJ257 with 310 hp. The U.S.-market WRX (sans STI) already uses the turbo FA20, but it makes 268 horsepower. The WRX STI will finally move to the Subaru Global Platform that the Impreza switched to in 2017, which will hopefully go a long way in improving ride comfort around town. The six-speed manual makes the switch as well. Best Car says the four-door's size won't change much, but the looks will crib from the Viziv concept - something everyone wants - with a design language called "Dynamic x Solid," U-shaped LEDs, and "greatly inflated front and rear fenders." Until then, the 2020 Subaru WRX STI will stick with its current architecture and another limited edition called the Series.White. A Torque News story says that as with the Series.Gray launched for the 2019 model year, the Series.White will be limited to 250 examples in WRX STI flavor, and 750 examples of the WRX. The Series.White gets a tonal neighbor on the palette for 2020, a new hue called Ceramic White that's exclusive to the WRX and WRX STI, which will omit any metallic or pearl effects in order to distinguish itself from the already-available Crystal White Pearl. The Series.White, as a special edition, will come with the requisite Crystal Black Silica badges, Recaro seats, Performance Package, suspension upgrades, folding side mirrors, and 19-inch black wheels.  The WRX S4 and Levorg will benefit from two brand new, downsized, direct-injection turbocharged engines in Japan, one of 1.5 liters, the other of 1.8 liters. Built around smaller, lighter engine blocks and boasted improved combustion efficiency, the 1.5-liter will produce about 148 hp, the 1.8-liter about 266 hp. Our non-STI WRX gets a 2.0-liter FA20 with 268 hp.

Toyota GT86, Scion FR-S sales disappointing worldwide?

Okay, folks - it appears we've got a problem. The Toyota GT86, Europe's counterpart to our own beloved Subaru BRZ and Scion FR-S coupes, is apparently not selling too well. This, according to Toyota's European Vice President of Research and Development, Gerald Killman, is what's limiting plans for additional variants of the rear-drive coupe.
"A faster version of that car would be at the top of most people's wish lists, but like the cabriolet, it is hard to justify a business case to push either model into production based on the current sales," Killman told AutoExpress. "Personally, I think that engine could use a little bit more," he added.
More troubling is that slow sales aren't limited to the Euro-spec car, with Killman claiming that the GT86 have been missing sales targets in major markets around the globe. It may not be that the US is one of those major markets, though. Scion's Vice President, Doug Murtha, tells Autoblog that his brand is happy with the sales of its version of the GT86, the FR-S. 18,000 units were sold last year, which Murtha says is "generally in line with original expectations for the car."