1994 Subaru Impreza on 2040-cars

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Weekly Recap: Mazda's rotary revival ignites Tokyo Motor Show

Forty-eight years ago Mazda pioneered rotary engines in the Cosmo Sport. Mazda then honed the technology, won with it on the racetrack, and made it one of its signature features. If you're an enthusiast, rotary was a reason you like Mazda. It's a great part of the company's past. But until this week, that's exactly what we thought it was. History. That all changed with the reveal of the RX-Vision concept at the Tokyo Motor Show, which reignited the passions of the Mazda faithful. Suddenly, rotary was no longer a relic. The rotary concept shown in Japan was a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive sports car wrapped in the company's latest Kodo design language. It's powered by a Skyactiv-R unit (R for rotary), though specs were not disclosed. Mass production is "currently on hold," Mazda said, maintaining it never stopped development of rotary technology, even after the demise of the RX-8. Beyond that, we know nothing, other than the optimistic statement Mazda offered that: the "RX-Vision represents a vision of the future that Mazda hopes to one day make into reality." Put simply: we agree. OTHER NEWS & NOTES: Subaru previews next-gen Impreza While the Mazda concept was the headliner from Tokyo, Subaru's Impreza design study also stood out. The five-door concept is a signpost for the look of next-generation Impreza. It blends sportiness with functionality, and it's wrapped in a striking shade of 'high-luminance silver.' The fenders are flared to signal Subaru's all-wheel-drive capability, and the front has futuristic headlights that look like something from an Audi E-Tron concept. While most of this will be toned down in production, the concept suggests an elevated style for the Impreza, which is due as a 2017 model. Porsche adds potent GTS model to 2017 Macan line Porsche is giving the Macan crossover the GTS treatment, which will start at $68,195 when it goes on sale in March. GTS translates to more power, a sportier suspension, and interior and exterior design cues that sharpen the looks and reflexes of one of the most athletic SUVs on the market. Porsche recalibrated the 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 from the Macan S to make 360 hp and 369 lb-ft, (up from 340 hp and 339 lb-ft in the S). It teams with a seven-speed PDK gearbox and all-wheel drive. An air suspension is standard. The body features a slew of black accents, and the standard 20-inch RS Spyder wheels are done up in a shade of satin black. The cabin gets leather, Alcantara, and GTS logos.

2022 Subaru BRZ to debut Nov. 18

The 2022 Subaru BRZ will be officially revealed to the world in production form on Nov. 18, the Japanese automaker announced Wednesday. Like most of 2020's big reveals, the 2022 BRZ will be shown online. We've known for some time that the next-generation BRZ's debut was imminent. After all, disguised prototypes have been testing on public roads in southeast Michigan, and one such prototype was also shown (still camouflaged) to attendees of a charity preview event last month, from which a few images leaked.  This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. To put it bluntly, we really don't know much else about the forthcoming Subaru BRZ (or its Toyota twin, the 86). In fact, Toyota has been even more tight-lipped than Subaru in this regard. What little we've heard suggests that most of the platform enhancements will come from Toyota's side of the twins' joint development program, while the powertrain will again be sourced from Subaru. This runs counter some rumors we've heard that longitudinal engines from Toyota's portfolio, which includes turbocharged four-cylinders, could potentially make their way under the hood.  An evolutionary engine offering makes more sense than any sort of revolutionary leap forward, as Toyota now has a four-cylinder Supra model in its lineup. This effectively acts as a ceiling for the 86's performance. Subaru has its WRX and STI models to consider too, but that's a fundamentally different conflict of priorities, as the Supra is far more similar to the 86 than the BRZ is to either of its performance-oriented showroom siblings.  Encouragingly, the prototype we saw on public roads was being benchmarked against a turbocharged Ford Mustang. While it would be tempting to jump to the conclusion that Subaru is targeting the Mustang for power output, it's far more likely that the comparison is more holistic, rather than focused on powertrain performance alone. The lighter Subaru and Toyota coupes won't need quite as much power to keep up with the larger, heavier pony car, so expecting the twins to compete with the EcoBoost Mustang's 300-ish horsepower is grounded more in wishful thinking than reality.  Fortunately, we only have a couple of weeks left until we find out for certain. Stay tuned! Related Video:

Subaru BRZ with 362-hp, 2.4-liter V8 is the best thing you'll hear today

Whenever the Subaru BRZ and its Toyota twin are talked about, the conversation inevitably turns to whether they would be even better sports coupes with more power. Since their introduction, rumors have popped up suggesting possibilities like more displacement, turbocharging or even a hybrid setup to increase horsepower, but nothing has come to pass. Japanese tuner Jun Auto has decided on a completely different way to boost performance by chucking the 2.0-liter boxer four-cylinder entirely in place of a beautiful 2.4-liter V8. According to the YouTube description for this clip, the engine is based on two of the 1.2-liter inline four-cylinder units from a Kawasaki Ninja ZX-12R motorcycle. The result is a mill that makes a claimed 362 horsepower and revs to over 11,000 rpm. It also sounds like automotive nirvana. Finished in an eye-catching contrast of bright yellow paint with white wheels and a black wing at the back, the V8 BRZ certainly doesn't hide its performance, either. This video's text is in Japanese, but knowledge of the language isn't necessary to understand what's going on.