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Refreshed Toyota 86/Subaru BRZ spied running around the Nurburgring

The Toyota 86 and Subaru BRZ are officially confirmed for a second generation, but it looks like this current car will not go softly into the night. One of our spy photographers just caught a camo’d up BRZ/86 pounding around the Nurburgring with a few changes in store. This tester only has camouflage on the front and rear of the car, indicating a light refresh is the extent of the styling changes. In examining the car as a whole, itÂ’s a rather conflicting tester. Both the grille and headlights tell us itÂ’s an 86, but the badge on the rear clearly says “BRZ.”  The Toyota 86 has a different grille than the BRZ, and we can see that style grille flanked by some massaged vents on both sides. Toyota uses a different style of headlight for the 86, and these look similar to those used in the current car. New front-design features are covered up by the camouflage, but the sheet metal doesnÂ’t appear to be changing. Another area of potential change is at the rear of the car. More camouflage on the trunk lid covers the obvious BRZ badge and the taillights. We donÂ’t see much in the way of differences between the taillights on this model and the current BRZ/86 twins, but the manufacturer obviously wants to keep something secret back there. What weÂ’re most excited about is seeing the extra vent behind the front wheels. Current BRZ and 86 trims donÂ’t feature such intense cooling additions. Above it sits what appears to be a badge or protrusion of some sort. The window-level badging is still visible under the wrapping, but the tire-level badge is a new one — itÂ’s similar to the design we see on the WRX and WRX STI.  All things considered, this one is a little confusing. Subaru could be adopting a more Toyota 86-esque design, but we suspect a special edition is in the works. Hopefully it involves more than just design tweaks, and gives this model a hearty send-off before the new generation arrives.

Subaru Levorg, also known as the WRX's wagon cousin, revealed in production form

Last year, Subaru gave us our first look at the new Levorg station wagon in "prototype" form, which over the past few years has shared most of its body and interior with the Subaru WRX. Now we finally get to see the production version, and it looks basically identical to the regular and STI Sport concepts. That's not a bad thing. It builds on the old Levorg and WRX with sharper, crisper lines. There's more visual detail in the headlights and angled wheel arches. And it retains classic cues such as the big hood scoop. It can be made more aggressive looking with a variety of front and rear spoilers, diffusers and side skirts, too. While the exterior isn't huge news thanks to past concepts, the interior and engine specs are. The interior in particular gives us our first look at what we'll probably see in the next WRX. Not surprisingly, the focal point is the huge vertical touchscreen that looks lifted straight out of the Legacy and Outback. In fact, the whole dash is very similar to that of the bigger Subarus, though the height of the dash is a bit shorter and the air vents a bit thinner. The Levorg also has a fancy screen for its instrument panel, and it will be interesting to see if that carries over to a future WRX. We also finally have complete specs on the Levorg's engine, which we're sure won't be in the next WRX. It's a turbocharged 1.8-liter flat-four. Its engine name is CB18, marking it as a new engine not shared with any current Subaru. It makes 175 horsepower and 221 pound-feet of torque and is paired with a CVT. While you can already get a WRX with a CVT, there's no way Subaru would offer the WRX with an engine that's down about 100 horses to the old model. When we do finally see the new WRX and STI, they will likely be similar to this Levorg, though with possibly some body tweaks to make it a little more aggressive. They will also probably adopt a sedan design instead of the wagon shape. Under the hood will likely be iterations of the turbocharged FA-series flat-four. The current WRX already has a 2.0-liter version of this engine, which makes 268 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. The next model could use a carryover or upgraded version of this engine. As for the STI, reports suggest it will get a 2.4-liter variant and could make as much as 400 horsepower. Related Video:

2019 Subaru WRX STI S209 First Drive Review | The exotic Subie

It’s not often that you drive a Subaru thatÂ’s rarer than most Ferraris or Lamborghinis. And in its own modest way, the 2019 Subaru STI S209 is as special as such limited-edition offerings from highfalutinÂ’ brands. The S209 is SubaruÂ’s rally-wrapped gift to America, the first S-Line model from the brandÂ’s vaunted STI performance division to be exported to the United States. Only 209 copies are being built, all bound for the U.S. beginning in November, and itÂ’s a dandy: The fastest, sharpest-handling, most sophisticated WRX ever to grace our shores. It's what we get for making the current WRX the best-selling version ever, with sales increasing every year since its 2015 debut. Good job, America. DonÂ’t confuse this car with a typical “STI”-branded Impreza WRX, which are all produced alongside other Subarus in Gunma, Japan. This “STI” refers to the scrappy, stand-alone performance unit called Subaru Tecnica International, now with barely 120 employees, thatÂ’s been responsible for beloved Japanese-market “S-cars” such as the S202 through S208. It owns a combined five manufacturerÂ’s and driverÂ’s titles in the World Rally Championship, and more recently, multiple class wins at the 24 Hours Nurburgring. STIÂ’s small shop in Kiryu, Japan, is building just two or three S209Â’s per day, and their handiwork – right down to hand-polished exhaust tips – is memorialized with a pair of serialized production plaques: one in the cabin and one atop the 341-horsepower, 2.5-liter boxer four engine. Subaru considered using its 2.0-liter turbo, but went with a modified version of the 2.5-liter EJ25 used in the WRX STI Type RA, because the larger-displacement motor meant less turbo lag. There's no typical plastic cover, so the gloriously exposed engine flaunts a redesigned intake with a conical air filter and enlarged ducts. An enlarged turbocharger is designed to STI specs by the respected aftermarket company HKS, which lifts the Type RAÂ’s boost from 16.2 to 18.9 psi. A catback exhaust system further reduces back pressure by 17 percent relative the Type RA, and 50 percent versus a basic STI. The S209's resulting 341 horses and 330 pound-feet of torque compares with 310 hp and 290 pound-feet in the 2019 WRX STI. Subaru had to quash its ambitious plans for forged pistons and connecting rods, due to potential durability concerns that the company now suspects was a non-issue.