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Subaru looks back on record-setting WRX STI from 2011 Isle of Man

In what we can only presume/hope is a precursor to the launch of the next-gen WRX STI, Subaru has released three videos now giving us a look back at the history of the STI-badged WRX models. In this third video, Dominick Infante, national manager of product communications at Subaru of America, got ahold of the automaker's 2011 WRX STI that broke records for the Isle of Man TT Challenge a couple of years ago.
In 2011, rally driver Mark Higgins piloted this car to a lap speed record of 115 miles per hour and a lap time record of 19:56.7 around the 37.8-mile course. The race-prepped STI, which Infante refers to as an "STI on steroids," features a beefed-up suspension, a wonderful-sounding open exhaust and the removal of the speed limiter to go with full roll cage and racing seats and harnesses.
Scroll down to see - and hear - new driving footage of this 2011 WRX STI with Infante behind the wheel as well as some race footage from 2011 - including a near-disaster Higgins averted at 150 mph. Also, be sure to check out the previous videos from Subaru for the 1998 Impreza 22B STI and a 2004 WRX STI.

Watch this week's Top Gear America used-car challenge

Top Gear America is back for the penultimate episode of the first season. Used car challenges were some of the highlights of the original UK edition. In our exclusive clip, Tom Ford, Antron Brown and William Fichtner run their $7,000 sports cars in a drag race. As expected, the trio chose very different cars for the challenge. Watch the video to see if a Subaru WRX's all-wheel drive can overcome a power deficit to beat a Ford Mustang and a Chevy Corvette. Brown and Fichtner also spend some time relaxing with an old Jeep Wagoneer. Like them, we're really hoping Jeep will bring back the Wagoneer nameplate. Brown also drives a Maserati Levante, proving that not all family cars need be boring. This week's guest star is actor, rapper and former host of Pimp My Ride, Xzibit. Top Gear America airs Sundays at 8 p.m. Eastern on BBC America. Related Video: Celebrities TV/Movies Chevrolet Ford Subaru Top Gear exclusive top gear america

Why a production Mazda Koeru won't be a Subaru Outback clone

No automaker has had a hit quite like the Outback Many have entered, few have won. The Subaru Outback is one of those automotive bogeys that competitors seek to imitate but never quite capture. Mazda is poised to change that, its CEO tells Automotive News, with a production version of the Koeru concept. We're torn on whether this attempt will be the one to do it, whether the proposed model is truly aimed at the Outback, or whether it's just another pale imitation destined for failure. While the ingredients are pretty basic – wagon-like shape, extra cladding, a smidge more ground clearance than a regular car – no automaker has had a hit quite like the Outback. Reasons include packaging issues, poor brand fit, and Subaru's seemingly unstoppable momentum in building all-wheel-drive archetypes. That hasn't stopped a bunch of companies from trying. And now for a list: Ford attempted with the Freestyle/Taurus X; note that that model no longer exists, having been replaced de facto by the Flex and the newly crossover-ified Explorer. Audi discontinued the A4 Avant and slapped the Allroad badge and some fender flares on to capture the affluent outdoorsy crowd, initially selling well but now down 40 percent since last year. The humpback Honda (Accord) Crosstour and Toyota Venza could also be considered Outback-apers, as both short-lived models took sedan bodies and added a hatch and optional all-wheel drive. Dodge got into this space a few years back with the Journey Crossroad trim level, but fake brush guards and black wheels do not an Outback make. Volvo has perhaps come closest with the XC70, a not-quite-crossover that it nevertheless brands like its other crossovers. It helps that the Volvo die-hard and the repeat Subaru buyer aren't too different. Most of these models no longer exist, and the ones that do haven't sold as well as Subaru's Outback so far this year. Even if you're generous and add all 96,718 Journey sales (and not just those for the Crossroad, which FCA doesn't break out separately) to V70/XC70, Venza, and Crosstour, it still doesn't equal the 136,227 Outbacks Subaru pushed through November of 2015. And, as Automotive News points out, Mazda hasn't sold that many crossovers so far this year (the number is 129,932 thanks to huge CX-5 numbers). So why is Mazda considering going after the hallowed Outback? First off, we're not sure that it is because there's the question of what tiny niche this vehicle would occupy. "It's a totally new car.