News from Subaru

February 27th, 2008



Colin McRae's Legacy Sold

"The Legacy which launched Colin McRae into the rally world has been sold prior to the auction which was to be held at H&H Classic Auctions at Cheltenham.  The car in it's 1992 livery was sold to a new motor museum project for an undisclosed sum and the proceeds of the sale are going to charity.  The Legacy was replaced by the Impreza as the Rally car by Subaru and the McRae car was sold into private hands but later acquired and restored by Autosportif.




February 27th, 2008

Subaru all-new redesigned 2009 Forester will arrive in dealerships in April 2008



Press Release

"For 11 years, the Subaru Forester has been an icon of functionality, dependability and durability," said Tim Colbeck, vice president of sales, Subaru of America, Inc. "The 2009 Forester now adds greater interior room, improved comfort and more amenities than before, yet with a starting price that is significantly lower than the outgoing model."

The new Forester is available in the 2.5-liter naturally aspirated (available in three trim levels) and 2.5-liter turbo models (available in two trims).

This third-generation Forester is a total re-design of the award-winning crossover utility vehicle (CUV). The 2009 Forester builds upon its predecessor's reputation as an icon of safety, dependability and versatility. The new-generation model projects a bolder, more SUV-like design and making a major leap in safety technology, comfort, refinement and driving dynamics.

As with all Subaru models, the new Forester comes equipped as standard with Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive. An all-new platform featuring a 3.6 inch longer wheelbase (now 103.0 inches) and the double-wishbone rear suspension improves crash-worthiness and at the same time provides crisper handling and increased interior space and cargo room. The 2009 Forester blends interior versatility with passenger car comfort, handling and fuel efficiency.

All new Forester models for 2009 will feature standard side-curtain airbags with a rollover sensor, and Vehicle Dynamics Control (VDC) stability and traction control system as standard on all models for the first time. With the Subaru Dynamic Chassis Control Concept (Subaru DC3), Subaru has optimized all elements of the Forester's chassis to deliver a better balance of ride, handling response and overall traction performance than that offered by competitive vehicles. A  new, high-strength body structure, standard Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive, VDC and four-wheel disc ABS brakes with the Brake Assist safety system all contribute to make the New Forester a real competitor in the SUV class.
 

19th February 2008

Is this a Ford Focus?  A Vauxhall Astra? An MG ZR? No it's
The all-new Subaru Impreza




You could be forgiven for mistaking the pictures above for a model coming from a stable such as Ford, Vauxhall or Honda as it is so it is unusual for a manufacturer to actually change the body-style to such an extent particularly a manufacturer as iconic as Subaru but the all-new Subaru Impreza which used to be a sports saloon is now a 5-door hatchback with smoother lines and a more rounded shape.

Subaru has given the Impreza a whole new body shape in order to be more competitive in the European mass market  and to take on the likes of the Honda Civic and Volkswagen Golf.  It has a longer wheelbase, is wider than before and the result looks like a cross between an Alfa Romeo and a Ford Focus.

The new car went on sale in the UK in September ('07) in 1.5R and 2.0R and RX forms, and in November, a limited number of the 2.5 WRX were made available. However, fans of the top-of-the-range, WRX STI turbo will have to wait until the spring.

There is quite a bit difference in terms of appearance between the new Impreza R, the RX and the WRX . The 1.5R has fairly plain styling which forms the basis for the others. The bonnet is nicely curved for extra pedestrian protection and the bumpers are more rounded than before for the same reason. The front fog lights are set into the deep bumpers while the new grille and headlight clusters finish the front end.

The RX models all have 17-inch alloys rather than the 15-inch for the 1.5R and 16-inch for the 2.0R. It also has front and rear spoilers, side skirts and a diffuser under the rear bumper.

While the WRX has much the same, it is easily distinguished by the large air intake pod in the middle of the bonnet (a distinctive feature of previous Imprezas) and the WRX STI is expected to have even more extreme styling.

The specification includes climate control air-conditioning, electric windows all round, rake- and reach-adjustable steering column and AWD with a dual-range, low-ratio transfer box.
 

20th January 2008

Clarkson on the New Subaru and Subaru Owners



'There are many ways to tell if someone is a bit thick... You can sit them in a room and ask them to push various bits of plastic into a wooden box. Or you can ask.  'Are you wearing a Subaru rally jacket?'   Of course, there are intelligent Subaru drivers, but for the majority of them, there are only eight letters in the alphabet. WRX STI R and B. I think the problem may be this. A Subaru Impreza is seen by the rallying fraternity as the golden-wheeled wonder boy. It was a Subaru that took Richard Burns to his world championship, and a Subaru with which Colin McRae became synonymous. Show me someone who has a Subaru then and I'll show you someone who thinks rallying is fun. You buy a car that costs thousands of pounds. You then have that car tweaked and prepared, which costs even more. And then you drive it at incredibly high speed into a tree.

Strangely, however, Subaru Imprezas have always been rather intelligent cars. They were so much more quiet and refined than alternatives from Ford and Mitsubishi. You got the impression that an Impreza would know how to hold a knife and fork. And whether to have its cheese before its pudding.

Whereas an Evo, you suspected, would goose your wife, eat with its mouth open and vomit into the sugar bowl during the coffee and mints. A Ford Escort Cosworth, meanwhile, would stab you just to get an electric ankle bracelet and an Asbo.

And now into the mix comes the new Subaru Impreza. I drove the WRX model recently and was terribly underwhelmed. It was too ugly, too soft, equipped like an Eskimo's khazi and about as exciting as Tuesday. The car you see in the picture this morning, however, is what we've really all been waiting for. The STi version. The one with the flared wheelarches, four exhausts and almost 300 horsepowers.

First things first. The looks. And I'm sorry but I'm still not sold. The standard car looks like a lightly melted Rover 25. With its flared aches, this looks like a lightly melted Rover 25 with bingo wings.

Then there's the interior. As is customary, the STi badge on the dash is pink and I'm afraid it really doesn't go with the orange dials or the green indicator lights. It's like a four-year-old has been let loose in there with a box of felt-tip pens.

Still, the vibrant colouring does at least take your mind off the fact that this is a £25,000 car that comes with fewer toys than an Ethiopian birthday boy. You know if a car maker is in trouble when, in its own brochure, it says the car is fitted as standard with locking wheel nuts and pneumatic bonnet struts. This is code for saying, "Sat nav's extra."

But of course the most important question is how the STi drives. And the answer is: provided you are the sort of person who can set the timer on a 1989 video recorder . . . it depends.

You see, down by your left elbow there's a small panel featuring a number of buttons and acronyms that you won't find in any other car. First of all, you choose what sort of throttle response you'd like. Then you choose from six settings how much power you'd like to go to the front wheels and how much to the back.

Or you can go for the auto setting, which unlocks the centre differential, sending most of the torque to the rear, or the Auto +, which sends it to the front. And now we get to the three-way vehicle dynamics control system, which turns the traction control system on, off or very off.

I have no doubt that on a track, when nothing is coming the other way and you can go beyond the limits, you will be able to spend many happy hours fiddling about, choosing exactly how you'd like to hit a tree. But you know what? On the road, even if you drive quite quickly, you can do whatever you like with any of these settings and it makes not a blind bit of difference.

I suspect the control panel is primarily designed as a talking point at Subaru owners' club meetings. In the same way that the button that turns the traction control off in your car is something you mention to colleagues when giving them a lift. But you'd never actually use it.

Honestly? The only time I ever deactivate a car's traction control is when I'm driving past a camera on Top Gear. On the road? Never. And so it goes with the STi. I pushed and prodded all the various buttons and, having realised they weren't making much difference, put everything in auto and left them alone.

In this mode, the STi is demonstrably better than the WRX. Harder, more taut and noticeably faster. There's still understeer, in any setting, which was always a tiresome characteristic of the old car. But there is something new. The flat-four strum is gone. The new 2.5 litre engine just sounds boring and I must therefore recommend you opt for the Prodrive sports exhaust to liven it up a bit.

So even though Subarus are probably the most reliable cars made - they make Hondas look like South American dictatorships - the new STi doesn't look or sound good, it isn't equipped very well and it doesn't excite like its bingo wings and four tailpipes suggest it will. Put simply, I did not enjoy driving it.

I think therefore you may have to be a bit dim to buy one. If you're a Subaru fan with a full range of Subaru clothing in your wardrobe, you'll probably love it.



 

PRESS RELEASE: 4 Jaunary 2008

Martin signs as test driver for the Subaru World Rally Team

Markko Martin has signed as the official test driver for the Subaru World Rally Team, as the team steps up its testing programme in preparation for the launch of its all-new Impreza World Rally Car.

The 32 year old Estonian, who won the Bettega Memorial Rally at the end of last year driving an SWRT entered Subaru Impreza WRC2007, has an agreement that will see him responsible for the ongoing testing and development of Subaru’s new WRC contender throughout 2008.

23rd November 2007

Justy supermini now on sale



Subaru's new Justy supermini is now on sale, offering outstanding fuel economy, equipment and space plus ultra-low exhaust emissions which should make it exempt from the proposed new London Congestion Charge.

In fact, with a 64.2 mpg Extra Urban figure, ultra-low 118 g/km exhaust emissions and annual £35 Road Fund Licence, the new Justy 1.0 R promises to be one of the cheapest petrol-engine cars to run on UK roads.

However, the five-door body offers interior space from the next class up while the efficient, 69 PS three-cylinder 1.0 litre engine offers sufficient power for long-distance driving. Top speed, for example, is almost 100 mph and the 0-60 mph time is 13.5 seconds.

Standard equipment is outstanding for a small car and includes: ABS with EBD, driver, passenger, side and front and rear curtain airbags, alloy wheels, air-conditioning, radio/CD player, rev-counter, fuel-economy read-out, four electric windows, reversing sensors, remote central-locking with alarm and ISOFIX child-seat mountings.





24th October 2007

Impreza WRX STI



Subaru has at last revealed details of its hardcore new Impreza WRX STI which is substantially different to the non-turbo five-door models now being delivered to first customers.

Developed by a dedicated team of performance-loving engineers, the stunning new WRX STI debuts at the Tokyo Motor Show on 24 October but if you want one of these babies you will have to wait until next spring.

With a heavily-revised new 300 PS turbocharged 2.5 litre "boxer" engine, totally new platform and suspension plus even more advanced symmetrical all-wheel drive system, the World Rally Championship look-alike is sure to satisfy Subaru traditionalists even though the makeover has transformed it into a hatchback.

Its proportions are radically altered compared to both the previous Impreza and mainstream new 1.5 and 2.0 litre models.  For example, the wheelbase is 95 mm longer than the old car despite overall length being 50 mm shorter. This reduces front and rear overhangs and enhances stability.

And at 1,795 mm wide, the new STI is even 55 mm wider than the new model thanks to heavily blistered wheelarches, while front and rear tracks are 45 and 40 mm greater for a ground-hugging stance.

Apart from the extended front and rear wings, key visual differences include a mesh front grille and a new, deep bumper design with sporty vertical air vents at either side to help cool the intercooler.  Immediately behind each front wheel is a vertical air outlet for the intercooler, topped by an "STI" moulding plate.

Specially-designed side skirts neatly blend into the extended wheel-arches, while an oversized roof spoiler with high-mounted stop lamp further distances the WRX STI from the mainstream Impreza R and RX. In addition, an integrated rear bumper diffuser reduces high-speed lift.

At the rear, four exhaust pipes twinned in pairs at either side of the body not only give a distinctive look but reduce exhaust air-flow resistance by 38 per cent, increasing power and reducing noise.

Specifications of Subaru Impreza WRX  Hatchback  5 dr  £20,090 on-the-road

September 12th, 2007

Subaru shows its Impreza WRC concept in Frankfurt

Extract and pics courtesy of windingroad

Well, the good news is that Subaru showed its Impreza WRC concept in Frankfurt, and we can attest that it is the best looking new Impreza by far. The bad news is that outside of a glossy, info-starved (with the added difficulty of being written in German) press kit and a smile from the nice lady at the Subaru counter, we didn't get a lot on the new concept.

WINDING ROAD readers will be able to tell as we were that the WRC is a tough looking, lowered, and rallied-out version of the expected Impreza STI. Presented in classic Subaru livery with a dramatic swath of the Stars of Pleiades across both doors, chances are that the new Scooby racer will be a blown, flat-four-powered, really fast ride.

For now, we'll enjoy the pics. and long for four-wheel drift on loose bitumen.







July 2007

Subaru releases a new final-edition GB270 Impreza WRX saloon and sports wagon



To mark the end of the current model's run, Subaru has released a new final-edition GB270 Impreza WRX saloon and sports wagon. This is a very limited edition. Numbers will be strictly limited to 300 for the Impreza GB270 saloon and only 100 for the Sports Wagon. The new GB270 comes equipped with a 266hp 2.5L boxer engine enhanced by motorsport company Prodrive.

Subaru is guaranteeing customers exceptional value from the final-edition versions of its iconic Impreza 2.5 WRX saloon and Sports Wagon. Both models cost £22,995 on-the-road - only £2,898 and £1,898 more than the standard Impreza WRX saloon and Sports Wagon respectively. Called GB270, the last-of-the-line current Impreza offers around £7,600 in extra equipment for the saloon and just under £7,000 for the Sports Wagon.

Both models benefit from the 270 PS Prodrive Performance Pack.Power is up 40hp over the standard WRX and torque is boosted by an additional 74lb-ft, now standing at 310lb-ft. The extra performance results in a 0 to 60mph time of 5.3 seconds versus 5.9 seconds for the regular model, and a “0 to100mph time of 13.9 seconds instead of 14.4 seconds. Mid-range response is substantially improved as well.

Other shared features include a lowered spring kit, "quickshift" gearchange, special carpet mats, MOMO "Air-Race" gear knob, larger-diameter 18x7.5ins GT1 alloy wheels and GB270 exterior badging and individually numbered interior plaque.
The cars are further differentiated thanks to the stainless-steel mesh front grille, STI front lip spoiler and silver-finished 18in alloy wheels.

About Subaru

"SUBARU" is a Japanese word meaning "unite", as well as a term identifying a cluster of stars, which the Greeks called the Pleiades - part of the Taurus constellation formed according to Greek mythology by Atlas' daughters.

Mythology
In the Pleiades star cluster only six of the stars shine brightly, the seventh, Merope, shines dully because she is shamed for eternity for having an affair with a mortal. Some myths also say that the star that doesn't shine is Electra, mourning the death of Dardanus, though a few myths say it is Sterope.

One of the most memorable myths involving the Pleiades is the story of how these sisters literally became stars, their catasterism. According to some versions of the tale, all seven sisters committed suicide because they were so saddened by either the fate of their father, Atlas, or the loss of their siblings, the Hyades. In turn Zeus, the ruler of the Greek gods, immortalized the sisters by placing them in the sky. There these seven stars formed the constellation known thereafter as the Pleiades. The sisters are Alcyone, Maia, Electra, Taygeta, Celaeno, Merope and Sterope. The Great Hunter, Orion, fell in love with them and chased them for seven years.

Today there are only six stars in the Pleiades that are easily visible with the naked eye. There are many theories about what happened to the 7th one. Celaeno has often been called the "Lost Pleiad" because she was hit by lightning according to mythology. In reality, the star we call Celaeno is just at the limit of human vision in terms of brightness so the constellation is generally regarded as six stars.

In 1953, five Japanese companies merged to form Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. The new corporation adopted the "Subaru" cluster of stars as the official logo for its line of automobiles (The car = Sixth Star?) and which has grown to become one of Japan's largest manufacturers of transportation equipment.

FHI, best known for its Subaru automobiles, was the first Japanese auto maker to offer front-wheel drive passenger cars in Japan (1965) and four-wheel drive passenger cars in the world (1972). Today, the reliability of the Subaru brand name is reflected in the more than 10 million vehicles sold to satisfied customers worldwide.

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