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2020 Subaru WRX STI S209 Prototype First Drive Review | The best is just for us

We're about 70 miles southwest of Tokyo on the grounds of Fuji International Speedway. Yoshihide Yano puts his hand on the camouflaged carbon fiber roof of the 2020 Subaru WRX STI S209 prototype we're about to drive and smiles. "This will never make a business case," says the assistant manager of Subaru's North America Business Planning Department. "We don't want to make more than 250. The more we make, the more money we lose." From the wince of his co-workers, Yano is clearly off the script, but his statement isn't a huge surprise. Building the STI S209 is complicated and time-consuming, with most of its extensive engine, suspension and aerodynamic modifications being installed by hand at STI's small off-site headquarters just outside Toyko. Founded in 1988, Subaru Technica International is the automaker's motorsports division and employs only 120 people. It can produce just two cars a day. Subaru STI Car Show View 30 Photos And why not show off your fastest street car ever on Fuji's world-class 2.8-mile road course? Especially today, while the track is packed for its annual STI Motorsports Day, a yearly pilgrimage for the brand's faithful. The place is flooded with WRXs, BRZs, and models we don't get in America like the Levorg STI Sport, a hot rod version of its mid-size wagon. Although STI's new Super GT and Nurburgring race cars are making hot laps on the main circuit, our drive of the inexplicably camouflaged S209 (which was fully revealed at the Detroit Auto Show) is on a small half-mile road course tucked away in a remote corner of Fuji's massive acreage. And we get just three laps. 2018 Subaru WRX STI S208 View 15 Photos STI's S-Line of cars have been the brand's most capable machines since the S201 launched in 2000, but the S209 will be the first S-Line model sold in the United States – and exclusively in the United States, for that matter. It will also be the first S-Line WRX that won't be powered by a modified version of the brand's venerable 2.0-liter EJ20 engine family, which Subaru introduced in 1989. The company says the EJ20 cannot meet emissions and make more than 300 horsepower on our low-octane fuel. The fix for this is a version of the turbocharged EJ25 series, which has powered every U.S.-spec WRX STI since we got it in 2003. To create the S209, STI's engineers started by mixing together certain parts from both the S208 and the 310-hp WRX STI RA Subaru sold in America last year.

Why a production Mazda Koeru won't be a Subaru Outback clone

No automaker has had a hit quite like the Outback Many have entered, few have won. The Subaru Outback is one of those automotive bogeys that competitors seek to imitate but never quite capture. Mazda is poised to change that, its CEO tells Automotive News, with a production version of the Koeru concept. We're torn on whether this attempt will be the one to do it, whether the proposed model is truly aimed at the Outback, or whether it's just another pale imitation destined for failure. While the ingredients are pretty basic – wagon-like shape, extra cladding, a smidge more ground clearance than a regular car – no automaker has had a hit quite like the Outback. Reasons include packaging issues, poor brand fit, and Subaru's seemingly unstoppable momentum in building all-wheel-drive archetypes. That hasn't stopped a bunch of companies from trying. And now for a list: Ford attempted with the Freestyle/Taurus X; note that that model no longer exists, having been replaced de facto by the Flex and the newly crossover-ified Explorer. Audi discontinued the A4 Avant and slapped the Allroad badge and some fender flares on to capture the affluent outdoorsy crowd, initially selling well but now down 40 percent since last year. The humpback Honda (Accord) Crosstour and Toyota Venza could also be considered Outback-apers, as both short-lived models took sedan bodies and added a hatch and optional all-wheel drive. Dodge got into this space a few years back with the Journey Crossroad trim level, but fake brush guards and black wheels do not an Outback make. Volvo has perhaps come closest with the XC70, a not-quite-crossover that it nevertheless brands like its other crossovers. It helps that the Volvo die-hard and the repeat Subaru buyer aren't too different. Most of these models no longer exist, and the ones that do haven't sold as well as Subaru's Outback so far this year. Even if you're generous and add all 96,718 Journey sales (and not just those for the Crossroad, which FCA doesn't break out separately) to V70/XC70, Venza, and Crosstour, it still doesn't equal the 136,227 Outbacks Subaru pushed through November of 2015. And, as Automotive News points out, Mazda hasn't sold that many crossovers so far this year (the number is 129,932 thanks to huge CX-5 numbers). So why is Mazda considering going after the hallowed Outback? First off, we're not sure that it is because there's the question of what tiny niche this vehicle would occupy. "It's a totally new car.

Subaru will cap sales, introduce US-only SUV and PHEV

With Subaru's meteoric growth over the past few years, it seems like the company would double down on the success and expand. However, the Japanese brand has announced that it will take the opposite approach. Rather than continually increasing global deliveries, the automaker will instead cap annual volume to between 1.03 million and 1.1 million units, according to Automotive News. While the strategy will keep Subaru's niche status, the brand's lineup certainly won't stagnate. After abundant rumors, a US-only, seven-seat crossover will eventually be assembled in Indiana, and Impreza production will reportedly move there in 2016. In addition, the company will launch a plug-in hybrid around 2018, but it'll only be sold where necessary to meet zero-emissions requirements. While the Japanese brand is widely known for crossovers and wagons, Subaru isn't forgetting its performance fans, either. Fuji Heavy Industries President Yasuyuki Yoshinaga confirmed yet again that a second-gen BRZ is under development. "We have already agreed with Toyota we will do a full model change. We have not decided when it will be introduced," he said to Automotive News. Subaru has been considering whether to grow for years, but the planning eventually favored maximizing the current factories. For example, Subaru decided not to build a plant in China but has chosen to boost capacity at the line in Lafayette, IN. Yoshinaga sees the strategy as a way to maintain the brand's soul. "Many companies try to be bigger or sell more vehicles. If Subaru does the same thing, we will lose our characteristics," he said to Automotive News. Related Video: