Subaru’s double whammy on its new WRX models

October 7, 2013 by Alastair Sloane

WRX concept has carbon-fibre roof

Subaru NZ will launch a performance double whammy next year by unveiling the fifth-generation WRX sedan and its go-faster STi sidekick within months of each other.

The all-new WRX will go on sale here in March and the STi in June/July. The appearance of the STi so soon after the WRX is in contrast to previous years when the arrival of the two was split by up to a year.

The back-to-back launch means Subaru NZ will start the second half of 2014 with its latest Impreza-based performance models.

It has just released the last of the current fourth-generation WRX variants – a limited-edition called the N1WRC (Colin McCrae’s number plate on his World Rally Championship car in 1996) at $54,990, and Version X, a swept-up example, at $49,990.

The new WRX is expected to be a toned-down version of the concept unveiled at the New York motor show last April.Missing from the production car will be the concept’s lightweight carbon-fibre roof, a showpiece used to emphasise Subaru’s intention to keep the centre of gravity in the new WRX as low as possible, a la the BRZ.

Expect the WRX and STi to be powered by revised versions of the turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder Forester engine, an intercooled, direction-injection unit which meets United States emission standards

It will drive all four wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox or a CVT with paddle-shifters on the steering wheel.

No word on a likely price for the WRX and STi, but Subaru executives in North America and Australia have hinted that both models will cost more than the current line-up.

The WRX first appeared in New Zealand in 1994, using a boosted 2.0-litre boxer engine delivering 148kW, around 48kW less than current models. Various iterations over the years included the range-topping 22B of the late 1990s.

If you are in a position to shell out upwards of NZ$600,000 for the 60^thanniversary Porsche 911 S/T or optional Porsche 911 S/T Heritage, you’ll no doubt want the signature titanium watch that goes with it. That’s how Porsche figures it anyway. Or, if you want the watch you’ll need to get the car. Both the car and the watch are limited to 1963 units, the year the original 911 model broke cover. The watch – Chronograph 1 911 S/T and Chronograph 1 911 S/T Heritage – and the car carry matching edition numbers. The watch is priced at $US13,500, or around $NZ22,200. The car, says Porsche NZ, starts at $NZ608,000. A “strictly limited number” will go into production for NZ early next year.

Eight European Union countries are pushing to weaken new EU emissions limits for cars, saying they are overly ambitious and unrealistic for carmakers to hit. The eight countries – France, Italy, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia – said in a joint paper that parts of the proposed Euro 7 regulation, including curbs on exhaust pipe emissions, should be scrapped entirely. They said the limits would force carmakers to invest in improving exhaust emissions performance, money which would be better spent on developing zero-emission vehicles. Taken together, the countries would have enough votes to block the proposal.

A go-anywhere EV concept for the US military uses an onboard 12kW diesel generator to top up the batteries on the move. The all-wheel-drive has 800-volt technology and a 200kWh battery pack to power three electric motors, two in the rear and one up front. Claimed output is 745kW/15,590Nm, or 1000hp and 11,500 ft-lb of torque. The four-seater was developed by the defence division of General Motors and is based on the platform of the Hummer SUV. It rides on Fox performance shock absorbers and 37-inch tyres and comes with “exceptional” approach and departure angles for off-road mobility. Maximum range using the generator to keep things ticking over is said to be around 500km.

The outside temperature in Midland, Texas, was 40.5C when staff at the local office of the US National Weather Service set out to show the cabin of a closed car can literally get baking hot in summer. They mixed up a batch of chocolate chip cookies and laid them on the car’s dashboard – the surface of which showed a temperature of 87.7C. A little over four hours later the cookies were ready to eat. “Even though ours weren’t golden brown, we can confirm that they are done and delicious,” the staff wrote on Facebook.