2009 Subaru Impreza Wrx Sedan 4-door 2.5l on 2040-cars

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Watch Mark Higgins whomp the Isle of Man TT course in a 2015 WRX STI

Subaru has made another trip to the infamous Isle of Man TT, bringing along its all-new 2015 Subaru WRX STI. The goal? Best the already impressive time set by rally ace Mark Higgins and the 2011 Impreza WRX STI on the same swirling, high-paced ribbon of tarmac. Of course, you already know how that went.
What we didn't know when the story first broke, though, was that Subaru was monitoring data. Specifically, Higgins' data. He was fitted with a monitor that would record his heart rate, breaths, skin temperature and the g forces he was faced with as he lapped the 37-plus-mile road course. While Higgins and Co. were aiming to best their 2011 time (19:56.7), this year's effort also saw a push to beat the time of the sidecar racers.
You can get a recap of the entire event, with plenty of footage and data from Higgins' lap in the exhilarating video below. Take a look.

Subaru details BRZ tS, stops short of full-on STI

Fans of the sweet-handling Subaru BRZ awaiting some performance enhancements got their hopes up earlier this month when parent Fuji Heavy Industries dropped some teasers hinting at an apparent STI version, but as was subsequently suspected, the model in question - now revealed in full - stops short of being a full-on STI model.
What we're looking at here is the new Subaru BRZ tS, which incorporates a series of enhancements but leaves the engine alone. Available exclusively in the Japanese Domestic Market, the BRZ tS package includes a thicker driveshaft, a front lip spoiler, Brembo ventilated brake discs packed inside 18-inch wheels and a smattering of STI logos inside and out. STI has also upgraded the suspension components, retuned the stability control and exhaust note and enhanced the interior with some carbon and Alcantara touches. An additional GT package includes further upgrades, most noticeably the giant rear wing (made of carbon fiber) shown above, black-painted alloys and Recaro bucket seats.
Only 500 examples of the BRZ tS will be offered in Japan, with no more than 250 of those outfitted with the supplementary GT package. Here's hoping Subaru gives us a taste on this side of the Pacific as well - or better yet, maybe they'll quit joking around and give us the full-on STI already.

Toyota GT86, Scion FR-S sales disappointing worldwide?

Okay, folks - it appears we've got a problem. The Toyota GT86, Europe's counterpart to our own beloved Subaru BRZ and Scion FR-S coupes, is apparently not selling too well. This, according to Toyota's European Vice President of Research and Development, Gerald Killman, is what's limiting plans for additional variants of the rear-drive coupe.
"A faster version of that car would be at the top of most people's wish lists, but like the cabriolet, it is hard to justify a business case to push either model into production based on the current sales," Killman told AutoExpress. "Personally, I think that engine could use a little bit more," he added.
More troubling is that slow sales aren't limited to the Euro-spec car, with Killman claiming that the GT86 have been missing sales targets in major markets around the globe. It may not be that the US is one of those major markets, though. Scion's Vice President, Doug Murtha, tells Autoblog that his brand is happy with the sales of its version of the GT86, the FR-S. 18,000 units were sold last year, which Murtha says is "generally in line with original expectations for the car."