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2021 Subaru WRX STI to pack 400 horsepower?

The next-generation Subaru WRX STI may boast as much as 400 horsepower from a re-tuned, 2.4L turbocharged boxer engine, making it the most powerful factory STI ever to be offered in America.  Forbes reports that an upgraded version of the engine currently offered in the three-row Subaru Ascent crossover will power the new model, rather than the 2.0-liter unit that powers the current WRX or the 2.5L found in the current STI.   According to the report, which cites an unnamed source close to Subaru, the company's engineers are hard at work beefing up the FA24 turbocharged boxer to coax 400 horses and 361 pound-feet of torque from an engine that currently offers just 260 horsepower and 277 lb-ft of torque in family-hauling tune.  While Subaru has been building high-output WRX and STI models for its home market for decades, this would be the first time a 400-horsepower STI would be offered for sale in the U.S. In fact, it would become the most powerful Subaru sold here, period. That honor currently belongs to the 341-horsepower 2019 STI S209, which is incredibly rare (and correspondingly expensive). It followed closely on the heels of the STI Type RA, which was similarly difficult to obtain, but not nearly as powerful or expensive.  Limited (as its name suggests) to just 209 units, the S209 was offered for only one model year at an eye-watering MSRP of $64,880. Customers are still taking delivery of their cars, as STI's tuning shop can only crank out a small handful per day. If it seems like Subaru has been taking its sweet time introducing a new WRX and STI, that's because development of the hotter models diverged from that of the base Impreza prior to the launch of the latter's latest generation. Subaru considers them independent models, and while they still share platform commonalities, they are no longer treated as a single product line. Current models are still loosely based on the last-generation Impreza, and the best hint we have as to the future of the WRX and STI is the Viziv Performance STI concept, which debuted at the Tokyo Auto Salon back in 2018. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Subaru BRZ next generation will be sold in U.S. but maybe nowhere else

A new reports says that Subaru has "no plans" to launch its upcoming second-generation BRZ in Europe. If true, that means the 100-unit Final Edition announced earlier this year for the German market is truly the final edition for the Old World. Furthermore, according to the UK's Autocar, which reported the news, the BRZ "will be a U.S.-only model." That would indicate that even Subaru's home market of Japan would be denied access to the lightweight sports coupe, which seems unlikely. Toyota has been very tight-lipped about its own 86 version, so it's not clear which markets the BRZ's twin would be sold in. Though the article doesn't say why the BRZ won't be available in Europe, the Toyota 86 and Supra's chief engineer Tetsuya Tada may have given a clue. In a 2019 interview at the Supra's U.S. launch, he revealed that one reason he partnered with BMW was because he wanted the Supra to be a truly global sports car. Given the rapid tightening of safety and emissions regulations in various markets around the world, if Toyota were to have built its own engines and platforms from scratch, development would have taken too long. "If we had gone that route, the car would not be done, even today [in May 2019]. It wouldn’t be out for at least a few more years. The problem is, you canÂ’t sell a car like I showed you today in 2021." It looks like that may have been a prescient move. The BRZ is presumed to share a 2.4-liter boxer four with the Ascent and 2020 Outback, neither of which is sold in Europe. It's predicted to have 220 horsepower and retain its rear-wheel-drive layout. Sadly, it looks as if the Supra will be Toyota's last global sports car model. The 2021 BRZ will be revealed November 18.

Subaru gunning for 500,000 US sales by 2015

For the last four years in a row, Subaru has experienced incredible sales growth including record sales of 336,441 units in 2012. This trend is all but guaranteed to continue this year with 281,652 on the books so far, but Automotive News is reporting the automaker has no plans of slowing down anytime soon.
The report says that Subaru is gunning for around 500,000 sales in the US by 2015, which doesn't seem like too far of a stretch considering 2013 sales totals are expected to top 400,000 units. Through August, Subaru's sales are up 29.3 percent compared to 2012, thanks to popular models like the Forester, Outback and, surprisingly, the WRX.
A new WRX is headed for an LA Auto Show reveal while an all-new Legacy is due out next year, and AN adds that Subaru is planning to significantly increase its media spending next year and start production of the Impreza sedan in the US in 2016.