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Subaru Viziv Performance Concept | Next WRX ... with driver assist?

VIZIV is a portmanteau, an invented moniker that Subaru has affixed to a series of concept cars it has shown over the past few years. The name is intended to combine the notions of vision and innovation inherent in these fantastical vehicles, which, like all concepts, presage a future that never comes. How else to describe a five-passenger, scissor-doored, diesel, hybrid, electric, all-wheel-drive, shooting brake? These reveries and chimeras have, in successive iterations, become a bit more ... realistic, or at least closer to the realm of possible. Witness the Viziv-7 shown last year at the L.A. Auto Show, quite clearly a near-production-ready preview of the brand's forthcoming three-row, seven-passenger crossover — and a long-expected replacement for the ghastly, Hercule Poirot-faced Tribeca from some years back. So what are we to make of the latest Viziv, the Viziv Performance Concept, just unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show? A muscular, flare-fendered, four-door sport sedan, the VPC is, in Subaru's own words, intended to "deliver enjoyment and peace of mind" to its customers while evoking a design philosophy of "DYNAMIC x SOLID." [Subaru insists that it is not yelling, merely being emphatic.] The vehicle is also meant to integrate the latest in driver-assistance technology, built around Subaru's EyeSight distance cruise control and collision prevention system. It is surprisingly attractive, for a Subaru, which is to say, more than simply functional and unpretentious and rugged with a smattering of premium materials. It looks kind of French. "We utilize traditional Subaru shapes like the flared fenders and the hood scoop," says Mamoru Ishii, general manager of the design department's product planning division. "But we wanted to enhance the three-dimensional sculptural forms, to express more of the shadows." So it looks like a Subaru. But it also looks kind of ... fast. So is this thing the new WRX? Size and stature wise, that supposition would make sense. Especially since that model is now a wholly separate vehicle line spun off of the Impreza platform some years back and that the next generation is expected to reappear, in novel form and with its own identity, for the 2020 model year, making a conceptual appearance now timeline-proper. "It's a design study for a sport sedan, and WRX is one of them," says Ishii. "It's not so far from the next generation." Not so far away, but not so close.

2015 Subaru Forester tS Quick Spin

When Subaru invited me to Japan and the famed Suzuka racing circuit to drive its BRZ tS, there was more on the menu than sporting coupes. The STI buffet also included the Subaru Forester tS. If you caught my BRZ tS review, the Forester follows the same idea: modified for better, more precise handling but without any increase in power. As I shared in the first tS review, and with Subaru's news at the New York Auto Show, the company plans to increase the awareness of Subaru Tecnica International – STI – over the next five years. In the case of the BRZ tS, a similarly-conceived car is coming to the US in the next few years. Such is not the story with the Forester tS. The JDM-only product was on hand to drive as further proof of what STI can do, but not as a preview to an upcoming model for sale in America. Subaru execs wouldn't go so far as to rule the idea out completely, but there was plenty of wink-nudging admitting the limited market for something like the Forester tS over here. Firmly ensconced in the "forbidden fruit" category, then, I still thought it'd be fun to report on the hot-ish, wagon-ish Forester. This one's for the other car nerds like me. Driving Notes So, what's new on this tS? Basically STI made the Forester stickier and less prone to roll under high cornering load. The same type of flexible tower brace previously found under the hood of the WRX is used here, and "flexible draw stiffeners" connect the body to the front and rear subframes for added body stiffness. The braces incorporate a very strong coil spring, and add lateral stiffness with enough give to allow the tires to stay in perfect contact with the road surface. The tires in question are 245-section Bridgestones, riding on attractive 19-inch STI wheels, both increases from the 225-section tires and 18-inch wheels that come standard in the US on the Forester 2.0XT model. The tS also has a more-powerful Brembo braking package; handy when hauling a 3,600-pound vehicle down from straightaway speeds. Subaru benchmarked the tS versus other 'sporty' SUVs and CUVs, including out and out performance variants. (Japanese professional modesty prevented Subaru reps from naming specific names, but suffice it to say that the Germans were involved.) In terms of roll rates, yaw response, slalom time, g-force and more, the Subaru's tS package shows massive improvements versus the standard Forester, and holds up to the competitive targets too.

Subaru WRX STI S209 brings wider body, 341 hp, gold wheels to Detroit

With the Subaru WRX STI S209, "S" finally comes to the United States. Subaru Tecnica International created the S201 in 2000, but this ninth take on the theme — inspired by the class-winning WRX STI Nurburgring Challenge racer — is the first to make it our way. Unlike the last special edition we got here, the Type RA, this one comes with a notable power boost: 341 horsepower instead of the 310 ponies in the regular WRX STI. The muscle comes courtesy of a larger compressor and turbine in the HKS turbocharger, and 1.8 pounds more boost pressure. Since the S209 is the most powerful in-house model STI has ever built, the tuning arm didn't stop there. The EJ25 boxer gets air from a new intake duct, induction box with conical air filter, and a silicone turbo inlet duct. Paddles on the steering wheel control a system that sprays water on the intercooler to reduce air temperature, a feature last seen on the WRX STI from the 2004 to 2007 model years. An old-fashioned six-speed manual controls the transmission.The engine gets its fuel from a high-flow fuel pump that feeds larger injectors. Torque hasn't changed from 290 pound-feet, but there's 10 percent more torque at 3,600 rpm. Airflow through the mufflers is 17 percent freer. The cans also are 4.1 pounds lighter and terminate in four-inch pipes. Subaru makes no mention of any other S209 weight loss, but the looks and the "focus on high-performance driving" should make themselves known. STI widened the front and rear track by 0.6 inches, and punched out fenders with aero-aiding canards make the car 1.7 inches wider. The roof and rear wing are made of carbon fiber. Instead of the 245/35 R19 wheels on the series WRX STI, the S209's forged BBS alloys wear 265/35 Dunlop GT600A summer tires, which we're told can handle max lateral grip beyond 1 G. Behind those wheels, six-piston monoblock Brembo calipers with high-friction pads clamp cross-drilled steel rotors in front, two-piston monoblock calipers in back. Stiffer coil springs wrap retuned Bilstein dampers, the suspension aided in its work by reinforced front crossmember and rear subframe, a longitudinally-flexible strut tower bar in front, flexible draw stiffeners front and back, and a 20-millimeter rear stabilizer bar. STI programmers recalibrated the SI-Drive system's three driving modes: Intelligent, Sport, and Sport Sharp.