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Toyota and Subaru file patents for performance FR-S and BRZ

People have longed for a more powerful version of the Subaru BRZ, Scion FR-S, and Toyota GT86 since the triplets arrived on the market. So far, neither partner in the deal has launched a model to fully satiate that hunger. However, the Japanese patent office recently approved documents from Toyota for the design of a vehicle that looks just like the Subaru STI Performance Concept (pictured above). According to AutoGuide, the filing also gives Fuji Heavy Industries credit for the design. The STI Performance Concept debuted at this year's New York Auto Show as an early step in STI's attempt to expand its reach here. The BRZ-derived coupe featured a body with a ground-scraping front bumper, tweaked headlights, wider fenders, a massive rear wing, and diffuser with a center-exit exhaust. All of these elements also show up on the patent renderings. The concept was just as exciting under the hood because STI installed a 2.0-liter, turbocharged boxer four-cylinder from its GT300 racer, and upgrades for the chassis, suspension, and brakes came from the Japanese market's BRZ tS. While the coupe made hearts race, the company was clear it didn't necessarily plan to build the model. Patent filings aren't a guarantee for production, and even if this one does arrive in showrooms, it might not come to the US. That's because Subaru and Toyota have a history of creating Japan-exclusive versions like the tS or Style Cb. That being said, spy shots have revealed a camouflaged GT86 testing in Europe, and rumors indicate more power from the engine. Subie's boss has even confirmed the existence of a partnership to create a next-gen model. Related Video:

Subaru weighing Outback vs Forester approach for seven-seater

Subaru is gearing up for a return to the seven-seat crossover segment, and it's focusing the new model on the US market, but just which approach it will take has yet to be decided. One possibility, according to Automotive News, would be to position it as a larger counterpart to the Outback wagon, with rugged off-road styling. The other would be to sell it as a big brother to the Forester, with cleaner styling. One thing Subaru most definitely does not want to repeat is the Tribeca fiasco, so we wouldn't expect the new model to carry that same nameplate. Introduced in 2006, the Tribeca's divisive front-end styling kept it from being a serious player, and it underwent a facelift only two years later. It was withdrawn from the market altogether after 2014. The company had targeted moving 36,000 units of the Tribeca each year, but sold fewer than 2,800 in America in 2011, barely over 2,000 in 2012, less than 1,600 in 2013 and just a few hundred in 2014. The new seven-seat crossover will go after the likes of the Toyota Highlander, Nissan Pathfinder and new Honda Pilot among three-row Japanese crossovers. Like those rivals, it will be built in the US for the US market – namely at Subaru's assembly plant in Indiana, the same state where the Highlander is produced. The new crossover's arrival will, according to reports, mean that the Levorg wagon offered in Japan and Europe won't be offered Stateside. Related Video:

Junkyard Gem: 1996 Subaru SVX LSi

Even as Subaru nailed down its position as the world's top maker of sensible all-wheel-drive cars, the company was willing to take a chance with a big, expensive sporty car with science-fiction looks. That car was the SVX, built for the 1992 through 1996 model years. Here's a final-model-year SVX, spotted in a Denver-area self-service wrecking yard. Because I live in Colorado, where just about everyone— myself included— owns at least one Subaru, discarded SVXs aren't so rare in my local wrecking yards. Before today's car, I have photographed this '92, this '93, this '95, and this '96. Unlike their XT and XT6 predecessors, the SVX had no manual transmission option; its big 3.3-liter boxer six engine made too much power for the three-pedal hardware Subaru had on hand. Those four-speed automatics were quite failure-prone, but this car's career was cut short by an ordinary wreck and not a bad slushbox. Subaru didn't make another engine this big until more than a decade later, with the 3.6 in the Tribeca. In 1996, this naturally-aspirated H6 was rated at 230 horsepower. Front-wheel-drive SVXs were available for a few years in the United States, but all of the '96s had all-wheel-drive. With all the horror stories about the transmission failures in these cars, 151,311 miles counts as an impressive mileage figure on an SVX. This car's owner or owners took good care of it. Well-cared-for older cars in wrecking yards often have the original owner's manual inside. Sometimes they even have the original window sticker stashed in the glovebox. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. The Alcyone SVX (as it was known in its Japanese homeland) featured this dreamlike TV commercial featuring a cover of Hedy West's 500 Miles. Featured Gallery Junked 1996 Subaru SVX View 19 Photos Auto News Subaru Coupe Luxury Performance Classics subaru svx