COBB Tuning takes wraps off supercharged Subaru B9 Tribeca
Given the somewhat lackluster response by consumers to Subaru's B9 Tribeca, the automaker's first 'real' crossover could probably use a little help. Enter COBB Tuning, a Subie-specific tuning house best known for ratcheting up the performance envelope of the WRX and Forester, has stepped in to augment the controversially-styled vehicle with improvements in three areas: Power, Control and Styling.
To that end, the tuners put together a Rotrex compressor-based supercharger setup with a side-mount air-to-air intercooler. Along with a reworked programmable ECU, the 3.0-liter flat-six generates 320 horsepower and 270 lb.-ft. of twist. To give the force-fed Tribeca a properly sporting tone, a COBB-designed cat-back set of pipework was fitted.
Given the bonus chutzpah, COBB wisely added big brakes (four-piston, 13" units) and a lowered, retuned suspension, along with a set of 20" x 9" Advan Connoisseurs in a bronze finish.
Of course, the B9's Achilles heel has arguably been its aesthetics. In an effort to clean up its visuals, their stylemeisters have added black mesh grille inserts, modified headlamps, and shaved the roof rack rails. According to COBB, the changes were inspired by "older Soviet MiG fighter planes," which may be a bit of stylistic hyperbole, but there's no denying that the reworked schnoz looks a good deal more aggressive than the factory's take.
Autoblog's staffers haven't had the opportunity to sample any of company's handywork first-hand, but we were there to watch a COBB-prepped 2004 Forester XT make an improbable run to a 14th place finish in One Lap Of America two years ago, and if Subaru won't oblige enthusiasts with an STi variant, this aftermarket solution ought to do the trick.
[Sources: COBB Tuning; One Lap of America]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Noah 2:21PM (5/16/2006)
I'd be more incline to drive that than the Porsche Cayenne.
--Noah
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Sgt. Hulka 2:26PM (5/16/2006)
The answer to a question no one is asking.
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The STi 2:34PM (5/16/2006)
I want one in my garage next to my Cobb STG-2 STi. I can have both, instead of just one WAY $$$ overpriced Porsche.
-The STi
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tim 2:37PM (5/16/2006)
it's still ugly...............
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Howard Kerr 2:37PM (5/16/2006)
Well, they are getting closer to where you can look (briefly) at a Tribeca, without wanting to run away screaming in agony. But instead of just painting it black, I suggest COBB have the photographers take any future publicity pix in a REALLY dark room...with the lights off.
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The STi 2:45PM (5/16/2006)
Reply to 4.- and the Porsche Cayenne isn't?
-The STi
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Corey W. 2:46PM (5/16/2006)
That vehicle is sooooooo gawd awful ugly!! How did this design get approved....we'll never know. The Azteck compared to this actual looks good.... which is pretty bad!!
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Michael Karesh 3:03PM (5/16/2006)
I'm more interested.
The handling of the stock Tribeca was okay, but not superior enough to your standard issue people hauler to make it worth the loss of passenger and cargo space.
My page for the Tribeca, with a link to my review:
http://www.truedelta.com/models/B9.php
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Ferguson McSqueege 3:13PM (5/16/2006)
Hmm...they supercharged the H6...
Isn't that also in high-level Outbacks? See where I'm heading?
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bernie 3:17PM (5/16/2006)
Reminds me of the comment and audio engineer made when asked if he could convert Grateful Dead recordings to digital. "Yeah," he said, "...but that would be kinda like polishing a turd."
Fast station wagons - especially FUGLY station wagons like this one are guaranteed to produce yawns everywhere. Oh, it's an SUV, you say? SERIOUSLY UGLY VEHICLE is right.
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mike jeffrey 3:29PM (5/16/2006)
Ford called, they want the edsel's grille back!
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whatever_man 3:41PM (5/16/2006)
i'm a diehard subie fan and have my wrx modded to the hilt...but...
the B9 is fugly and I'd rather have a forester sti in the garage instead of the cayenne OR the b9
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MikeW 3:47PM (5/16/2006)
I would like the boxing 6 in the legacy with a 6 speed manual. Come on Subaru, not everyone needs a turbocharger (people live under 1000ft elevation)
If I want a turbo boxing 4, it better have the constant pulsation exhaust manifold.
More torque, less power. 300hp & 300ft-lbs, via a roots supercharger.
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emor8t 4:26PM (5/16/2006)
still doesn't fix the ugly that car is smacked with, along with all new subarus that are infused with the inverted alra romeo-esque booger on the front.
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emulous1974 4:52PM (5/16/2006)
Yeah, my first thoghts were will this supercharger set up work in the H-6 Outbacks, too?
The Tribeca is growing on me, but the exterior design is not my favorite and doesn't do Subaru any justice. When I saw the Mazda CX-7, I said that's what the Tribeca should of looked like.
I'm up for anyone adding more power to the weighty Tribeca.
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holzer 11:14PM (5/16/2006)
Good decision -- the faster it goes the less time I have to look at it.
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the chad 2:35AM (5/17/2006)
Hmm,
Between that and suicide....
Well, someone get me a razor or some pills.
:-)
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mike 9:22AM (5/17/2006)
At first I hated it. But, it's growing on my (like a fungus?). It may actually be the first Subaru I've ever seen that didn't make me vomit. Okay, the new Legacy isn't bad but, all others make me ill.
#6...yes, I think the Cayenne is fugly too.
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Bob 11:52AM (5/17/2006)
What if the stuck a Mini grill on the front?
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JarryHames 4:47PM (5/18/2006)
And I thought that the Assteck finally went away. Subaru decided to rebadge it and call it a B9 Tribeca! A face only a blind mother could love!!! I hope that they fired the person(s) that signed off on this design.
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