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Cosworth teases upgrades for Subaru BRZ

Subaru may or may not produce an STI version of the BRZ. Things seem to go back and forth on the subject. But Subaru Tecnica International isn't the only company with a history of tuning Subies. So does Cosworth, and now the British racing firm appears to be turning its attention to the BRZ and its Toyota- and Scion-badged siblings.
For those unacquainted, Cosworth is more than your average tuning company. It's a racing firm first and foremost, having made F1 engines under its own name as well as Ford's (chief among them the all-conquering DFV 3.0-liter V8 of 1960s and 70s fame), not to mention engines for Indy, rally and even high-performance, road-going versions of the Ford Sierra, Chevy Vega and Mercedes 190E. The list goes on and on, but you get the point.
Now withdrawing from Formula One, Cosworth is focusing its attention on tuning road cars again with the launch of the Cosworth Power Package line, the first of which will focus on the Toyota GT86 (aka Scion FR-S) and Subaru BRZ. We don't know just yet what will be included in the packaged dubbed FA-20, but from the video teaser below, it seems there'll be upgrades to the exhaust, suspension, aero and - if we're lucky - maybe a super- or turbocharger for the 2.0-liter flat-four engine. We'll have to wait and see, but we get the feeling that with Cosworth on the job, it'll be worth the wait. Check out the minute-long video below in the meantime.

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.

Subaru forecasts 540k US sales in 2015, 940k worldwide

In the past few years, growth for Subaru in the US has only been rocketing upward. The company went from selling 336,441 cars in 2012 to 513,693 in 2014, easily beating its own forecast. In fact with a 21 percent gain, the region was the automaker's largest expanding major market worldwide. The brand sees no reason for the strong inertia to stop in 2015 and thinks it can do even better. It actually looks like North America is going to play an even more important role in Subaru's future. According to the company's 2015 forecast, Japanese sales are expected to fall eight percent this year to an estimated 156,000 units. Meanwhile, growth in the US is estimated to climb to the tune of about five percent to a total of 540,000 vehicles. Canada should help things with a seven percent boost to 45,000 cars. The numbers mean that of the automaker's record 940,000 forecasted sales in 2015, roughly 62 percent could come from North America. To cope with the growing demand, Subaru intends to boost worldwide production and build 920,000 vehicles in 2015, an all-time record of it happens. Further out, the company's SIA factory in Indiana is getting an 18,000-unit expansion "during the first half period of FYE2017" to keep up with Legacy and Outback orders. Clearly, Subaru intends to gain even more ground in the coming years. Read below for its full forecasts. FHI Announces Production and Retail Sales Plans for CY2015 Automobiles Jan 16,2015 Tokyo, January 16, 2015 - Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. (FHI), the manufacturer of Subaru automobiles, today announced its annual production and retail sales plans for calendar year 2015. 1.Production (Units in Thousands) 2014 Result '14 vs '13 2015 Plan '15 vs '14 Japan Production 696 +9% 700 +1% Overseas Production *1 193 +14% 220 +14% Global Production 889 +10% 920 +4% < Japan Production > In prospect of strong sales of the new Legacy and Outback being launched worldwide, Japan production is projected to be 700,000 units, which will be an all-time record for the 3rd consecutive year. < Overseas Production > With expected high demand for the new Legacy and Outback, overseas production is projected to be 220,000 units, which will be an all-time record for the 2nd consecutive year. < Global Production > Global production is projected to be 920,000 units which will be an all-time record for the 4th consecutive year. 2.