News
Posted Monday, October 21, 2024 at 9:10pm
Subaru’s vehicles are beloved by their fans for plenty of reasons, but generally speaking, fuel economy isn’t one of them. As a result, there’s been plenty of interest in the automaker’s vague plans to roll out hybrid models using a Toyota-based system in the near future. Well, as of last week, the folks in Shibuya City made the plans a little less vague: there is indeed a hybrid-powered Subaru Crosstrek on the way. As of… Read More →
Posted Monday, October 21, 2024 at 8:58pm
It’s said that great things come to those who wait. Just like many of you, we’ve been patiently waiting for Subaru to roll out the fifth-generation WRX STI. Well, we might be twiddling our thumbs forever, as Subie has yet to reveal any plans for the big-power, tall-wing, variable-center-differential rally king. As a consolation, Subaru has thrown the GT and TR models into the blender and poured a 2025 Subaru WRX tS. Read More →
Posted Sunday, October 20, 2024 at 9:09pm
Automotive manufacturers love breaking records, especially if they have the potential to lead to excellent sales figures. Typically, these records center around insane acceleration or top speeds, and for those who build vehicles tackling multiple facets of performance, lap records tend to be the target. Nurburgring times are a common goal for automakers, with the circuit used as a benchmark for almost every automaker – the record around the Green Hell is currently held by… Read More →
Posted Saturday, October 19, 2024 at 9:06pm
Rarely has a return to the top of the millennium seen so appealing. Or so achievable. There was much debate and much expectation that Thursday’s virtual meeting of the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council could bring news of hybrid being dropped from next year’s World Rally Championship. That story, we’re told, is still being written. Watch this space. But instead of some potentially divisive news about tomorrow, the governing body delivered some excellent news for… Read More →
Posted Friday, October 18, 2024 at 9:03pm
The next-generation hybrid is equipped with a newly developed 2.5-liter horizontally-opposed engine and transaxle. It adopts a series-parallel system that efficiently uses either the engine or motor as the power source depending on the situation. The engine’s generous dynamic performance and smooth acceleration further enhance driving enjoyment. Subaru’s Symmetrical AWD delivers reliable driving and offroad performance thanks to precise control of the mechanically coupled front and rear wheels through the propeller shaft. Moreover, the compact… Read More →
Posted Friday, October 18, 2024 at 9:00pm
Subaru did reveal some, but not all, of the specifics of the hybrid powertrain. Interestingly, unlike Toyota—with which Subaru shares some technology and builds cars with, and which owns 20 percent of the smaller automaker—the Subaru system will retain its H-4 engine configuration and a physical (i.e., driveshaft) connection to the rear axle instead of an e-AWD system. The engine will be larger than previous hybrid systems, using the 2.5-liter displacement version. The gasoline tank… Read More →
Posted Monday, October 14, 2024 at 8:56pm
When the latest Subaru WRX debuted a few years back, it was immediately the subject of controversy, and not only because of its plastic body cladding. Folks were annoyed that Subaru made the odd decision to lock performance bits like drive modes and Recaro seats into the top-trim WRX GT… which was only available with a CVT. Yuck. Well, a few years later Subuaru seems to have righted this wrong with the manual-equipped WRX tS.… Read More →
Posted Monday, October 14, 2024 at 8:51pm
Travis Pastrana rounded out his 2024 ARA campaign in the best possible fashion, clinching a hat-trick of American wins aboard his Subaru WRX. There was, however, a subplot at the season-closing Lake Superior Performance Rally. Way out west, near the town of Virgin, Utah, this year’s American champion was also winning. Having clinched this year’s ARA crown (his third straight), Brandon Semenuk took the weekend off to contest Red Bull Rampage – the world’s wildest… Read More →
Posted Saturday, October 12, 2024 at 8:49pm
Lia Block’s Subaru debut in ARA came to an early end Saturday after the 18-year-old driver retired from the race after a crash in stage 10, the first stage of the second day. Block was tapped to fill in for Subaru’s Brandon Semenuk in the Lake Superior Performance Rally, the final ARA rally of the 2024 season; Semenuk locked up the 2024 ARA championship before the final rally of the season. This gave the duo… Read More →
Posted Thursday, October 10, 2024 at 8:47pm
Michigan in the fall. Lia Block gets it. It’s surreal. The Singapore Grand Prix and a Formula 4 car suddenly feel a very long way away. She’s come home. Home to rallying. Home to Subaru. Expectation has been building about Lia’s debut aboard a factory Subaru WRX since the announcement that she’d take Brandon Semenuk’s car for this week’s Lake Superior Performance Rally, the final ARA round of the season. This is Tuesday, pre-event test… Read More →
