2004 Subaru Impreza Wrx Sti "the Real Deal" 2009 Modified Magazine Cover Car on 2040-cars

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Subaru brought back its best rally racing look

Every car has a color combination that suits it best, one that just fits and flatters. For the Subaru WRX STI, it's blue and gold. At the 2019 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Subaru revealed it is bringing back its iconic motorsports livery for the 2019 season with a modern interpretation of the blue and yellow star cluster graphic, complemented by gold wheels. It also announced it is reorganizing its motorsport division's structuring. The WRX STI has been seen in numerous colorways throughout the years. One of the main patterns last year was a graphic-heavy assortment of gray and white, accented by either yellow, red or blue. But for 2019, Subaru is following its heart and returning to one of the brand's most classic looks. According to Subaru, the colorway is inspired by the World Rally teams of the '90s and '00s. It features WR Blue Pearl and 13-spoke gold wheels. A massive yellow star cluster logo stretches across the front and rear doors and bleeds onto the rear arches. The sweeping comet design starts at the front quarter and across the B-pillar and roof. Furthermore, the red STI logo is seen all over the car, in places such as the front air intake, the roof scoop, and on the rear wing panel. Small dark blue star clusters on the front and rear sides of the car add more texture to the design, as well as bright yellow Subaru and Subaru Motorsports banners. After Subaru's performance division Subaru Technica International celebrated its 30th anniversary last year, Subaru is renaming its motorsports arm. Now aptly called Subaru Motorsports, Subaru plans to expand into more racing divisions, beyond its typical participation. Fans will have to wait a couple of months to see the gorgeous blue, yellow, and gold scheme. Subaru will debut the new car March 15 at Missouri's Rally at the 100 Acre Wood as part of the American Rally Association's 2019 National Championship Series. Related Video:

Subaru WRX S4 STI Sport # is a sharper, limited-edition WRX for Japan only

Depending on your nationality, age, and interests, the first association for the # symbol could be pound — for weight or the telephone, number, plain old hash or hashtag, or sharp for the musically inclined. Subaru Japan intends that last meaning for its new WRX S4 STI Sport #, because this is a sharper version of the mass-produced WRX S4 STI Sport introduced to the top of the range last year. Of note, this vehicle is a standard WRX, not a full-beans WRX STI. The differentiator is the "STI Sport" designation, which has also been applied to the Japan-market Levorg and BRZ, representing a model developed with input from Subaru Tecnica International. Last year's flagship trim picked up STI-tuned Bilstein DTMatic II inverted struts at front, STI-tuned conventional springs and dampers in back, 18-inch black wheels to go with black trim pieces like mirror caps and decklid spoiler, and a special interior with Bordeaux leather and ultra suede. Output from the 2.0-liter four-cylinder Boxer motor was left unchanged from the WRX S4 at 296 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque, shifting through the automaker's Sport Lineartonic CVT. The sedan costs 4,093,200 yen ($38,050 U.S.). The limited-edition WRX S4 STI Sport # displays a keener edge thanks to three STI components tested on the division's Nurburgring race cars — a flexible front tower bar, and flexible draw stiffeners for front and rear. All three components have been available on the aftermarket for a while, but their stock fitment is apparently new. The flexible tower bar looks like a typical strut tower reinforcement, but a pillow ball joint in its middle provides vertical elasticity. The bar maintains rigidity across the vehicle, but when the suspension needs a little give to work up and down, the pillow ball joint allows that. The flexible draw stiffeners are adjustable rods that connect a longitudinal frame member to a component on the cross-member, increasing chassis stiffness. STI says the three parts deliver faster steering response, reduced roll speed, and improved wheel tracking in the case of road ruts or crosswinds without compromising suspension suppleness. The Boxer sees some tweaks like a freer-breathing air filter and exhaust that raise torque by up to 10%, and sharpen throttle response. Thicker sound insulation in the floor and extra vibration-damping material in the spare tire well cut road noise for all occupants.

New Subaru concept crossover EV shown in walkaround video

Subaru held a technology briefing this week in Tokyo where it announced ambitious sustainability goals, but nearly lost amid the discussion of converting its fleet over to electricity was the unveiling of what appears to be an early concept version of a forthcoming battery-electric crossover. Thanks to the Japanese YouTube account LoveCars!TV!, we get a walkaround look. It appears to be Subaru’s version of the crossover EV it is jointly developing with Toyota, to be built atop a flexible platform that can accommodate multiple production vehicles from both brands. What weÂ’re shown is an athletic-looking crossover with its wheels pushed to the corners that borrows design elements, for better or for worse, from Cadillac, the Pontiac Aztek and the Tesla Cybertruck. Up front, the crossover borrows and exaggerates CadillacÂ’s signature squared-off corners and deep fog-light scoops that also reminds us of InfinitiÂ’s Q Inspiration concept from the 2018 Detroit auto show. It opts for narrow LED headlamps, and it notably omits any aesthetic concession to even a faux grille, save for a hexagonal shape outlined by the panel seams. Coupled with the black cladding on the lower bumper, the crossover's face has a certain Batman-logo shape to it. Moving around to the side, we see heavy black cladding — it doesn't appear to be standard plastic, since it reflects light — around the wheel wells, lending them a semi-octagonal shape that evokes the strongest comparison to the polarizing Cybertruck. Coupled with some interesting side creases, the cladding also gives the appearance that the wheel wells bulge out, and that the doors pinch inward, more than they probably do in reality. There are also no door handles or brakes, the side mirrors are rearview cameras and the windows are blacked out, so thereÂ’s nothing to divine about the interior and how far along that is in conceptualization. In back is where things get especially weird and Aztek-like, with a blunt and upright rectangular body panel making up the tailgate underneath a generously long, sloping rear window. ItÂ’s beveled at the top to tuck underneath the rear LED light bar, which stretches the length of the glass, and curved on each end to integrate with the sides. The LED treatment also dives down 90 degrees from the horizontal rear bar and then makes another sharp 90-degree jag to bracket the rear panel in hard-angled brake lights.