*no Reserve* 1999 Subaru Legacy Outback Limited 30th Anniversary Wagon 2.2l on 2040-cars

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UK designer to make WRX Concept-aping body kit for production Subaru

Remember the Subaru WRX Concept shown at the 2013 New York Auto Show, the one almost everyone loved but no one expected Subaru to make? Indeed, that Parnassian "design statement" led to a production design that came from a good middle class neighborhood known for its office parks and pasture land. UK designer Michael Bond is offering to change that, the man behind the yet-to-be-produced Rumbler "Superhero Utility Vehicle" touting the Subaru WRX Concept 13, which would take a customer's new WRX and turn it into something pretty close to the original concept.
That means new front and rear clips, including a redesigned rear diffuser to increase downforce, but a spoiler can be installed if the buyer decides that what he wants. The car won't be an exact replica of the NYIAS concept since that would infringe on Subaru's intellectual property, but it isn't clear yet how the design would be altered. Bond's site says that once he gets 50 confirmed orders, his team will order a WRX and begin the process of creating the new bodywork. It is claimed that once work begins, it will be four to six months to "[present] a completed model for public view."
Bond says the price will come down depending on the number of orders beyond 50, but doesn't give any indication of how much those first 50 cars could cost. If you're keen, though, head over to the site and fill out the enquiry form. Who knows if the Concept 13 will happen, but so far this is the best chance you have of getting what could have been.

Subaru rolls out BRZ Premium Sports Edition in Japan [w/poll]

The Subaru BRZ is many things: fun, affordable, communicative... but premium is not one of them. Yet that is precisely more of that upscale look and feel Subaru is going for with its new BRZ Premium Sports Edition.
Thus far exclusive to the Japanese Domestic Market, the BRZ Premium Sports Edition upgrades the standard model with unique 17-inch alloys and an interior spruced up with two-tone black and tan leather, along with contrast-stitched Alcantara trim for the instrument cluster, center console and door panels. There's also a set of aluminum pedals, metal and carbon trim, black mirror housings and more.
The luxed-up model wears a sticker price of 3,034,500 yen, which translates to about $31k. That would make it about $6k more expensive than a base BRZ in the United States, but to put it into more relevant context, the upgrades represent a 241,500 yen ($2,450) premium over the top-spec BRZ Type S in Japan. Assuming Subaru could keep that price premium intact, do you think it would be wise to offer the BRZ Premium Sports Edition in North America? Vote in our poll below, then have your say in Comments.

2015 Subaru WRX

Every time I drive a Subaru WRX, I wish one of my parents had taken some weird, top-secret spy job that would have forced us to relocate to Finland when I was a kid. I could have learned the art of rally-style car control as a young lad, and in my adult life, sought out a dangerous/rewarding/awesome career as a professional WRC driver.
Never was that more clear than on the launch program for the new 2015 WRX, where Subaru pointed us down a long, somewhat treacherous stretch of road in the tree-lined mountains of northern California. Quick elevation changes were met with blind turns and washed-out shoulders, not to mention rogue bits of snow, ice and gravel that lined the apexes of nearly every turn. Here, I couldn't stop grinning, my co-driver and I switching between second and third gears, with precise steering inputs and judicious braking keeping us safely on the road and not plummeting nose-first into the trees. And the WRX simply devoured each inch of pavement with a ferocious poise that made me remember why I have loved this car so darn much.
But this sort of 100 Acre Wood perfection isn't the only way to experience Subaru's darling WRX. After a long stint of driving back down the California coast on Highway 1, I realized that Subaru's line about this being the best-driving WRX yet wasn't just a bunch of PR mumbo-jumbo. Of course, it isn't without a few compromises...