Filed under: Concept Cars, Frankfurt Auto Show, Motorsports, Sports/GTs, Hatchbacks, Subaru
First Look! Subaru WRC Concept heading to Frankfurt
by Alex Nunez on Aug 9th 2007 at 8:46AM 
Click images to enlarge
Next month in Frankfurt, we'll all get our first looks at Subaru's new WRC car in the form of the Subaru WRC Concept. The automaker will have driver Petter Solberg on hand for the introduction of the racer, which for all intents and purposes shows us what the next-gen Impreza WRC car will look like. It should also offer a very strong hint at the styling of the forthcoming Impreza STI. The STI grille, big wing and bulging bodywork do the new Impreza some good, as this looks worlds better and far more aggressive than the soft-looking standard car. Subaru has released no details other than the two images you see here. Rest assured, our Frankfurt team will bring you the full scoop from the floor in Germany next month.[Source: Subaru]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
stefan 8:58AM (8/09/2007)
Its still never gonna be like the impreza used to be.
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Will 1:27PM (8/09/2007)
You're right, it'll never be like the Impreza used to be. It'll be faster.
Kowell 9:11AM (8/09/2007)
So THAT's what the camouflage Impreza with the ridiculously huge rear spoiler was.....
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Gregory La Vardera 9:24AM (8/09/2007)
well, its ugly, but it looks damn bad-ass!
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sw 9:45AM (8/09/2007)
If I wanted a "pretty" car, I'd be swooning over the vw bug. How a car behaves, gets mileage, and fits into practical life while putting a smile on your face dictates a good car. Looks shouldn't be a tenth of it.
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steved 11:54AM (8/09/2007)
you said 'vw bug'. you just lost all of your street cred.
geo.stewart 9:50AM (8/09/2007)
definitely works better as a gussied up version.
as for sw: sorry but that is a walmart mentality. Why shouldn't I be able to have aesthetics with functionality? I'm not saying form before function but no reason not to have both.
After 100 yrs of practice, the auto industry should be able to afford some design.
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sw 10:10AM (8/09/2007)
Not quite a walmart mentality. That'd require the purchase of a Chery.
NATHAN 10:15AM (8/09/2007)
They need to bring back the 2 door impreza's. Now those would be kick ass.
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Richard 10:21AM (8/09/2007)
Now this is what I have been waiting for: a very bad-arsed version of the Impreza grocery-getter.
The fender bulges are really the key to making this thing look squat, powerful and purposeful. The hatch and short rear overhang are clearly considerations of the driving dynamics of rallying (ie. being able to swing the tail around fast and transition, very quickly, to a straight line).
Let's hope that the STi designers keep all the purposefulness of the WRC version and combine that with a rear appendage that makes the car less susceptible to "profiling" by the authorities.
I'll take one in dark silver, please!
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Joe K. 10:48AM (8/09/2007)
Though infinitely better than the civilian Impreza, this one still struggles with the awkwardness of attempting to blur the lines of sedan and hatch. the roof line stops where a sedan's would, but the glass and door bulge out, strange...
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andrew 10:48AM (8/09/2007)
I love the 08 civic SI Grill
WTF it still even says SI in the corner!
I hope this makes it to the podcast.
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polar 1:00PM (8/09/2007)
That's "STI" cheif.
Jason 10:50AM (8/09/2007)
If that big wing in the back is on the STI street car I will vomit.
Don't screw up the STI Subaru, make it look aggressive yes, but refined and grown up as well. Then say hello to increased STI sales.
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Pete C 10:55AM (8/09/2007)
I think it looks HOT. This is a massive improvement over the standard "WRX" which is incredibly mundane. The fender flares, the wing, the wheels...this brings back the attitude. Can't wait to see the official STi now!
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Spalind 10:56AM (8/09/2007)
Travis Pastrana takes one look at this and says "Where's the Mitsu rep?!?!?"
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Ace 10:59AM (8/09/2007)
Wow.. I wouldn't say its ugly.. HUGE improvement over the ridiculous standard WRX...
Big sigh of relief seeing this, it has been non-stop bad news for Subaru fans.. hideous base models, softened WRXs, nauseating Japanese commercials.. I'll sleep better tonight.
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NATHAN 11:00AM (8/09/2007)
I definetly dont like the looks of the new impreza, especially making the top of the line sti a wagon.
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speedball3 11:32AM (8/09/2007)
Sweet!! I agree with a lot of the previous posters... keep those fender flares and that aggressive stance and the new STi will be able to at least look as good as the current one.
RE: STi being a wagon... have you seen a lot of the other WRC cars? A lot of them are hatches of some sort, so the STi being a wagon/hatch isn't so out of the ordinary. I personally like the idea of a high powered hatch (the smaller the better!). =)
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JT 1:15PM (8/09/2007)
I still think that the production STi will be a disappointment -- if this is the Subaru Open Class WRC car, then the body panels you see here are exaggerated, just as they are between the STi/WRC car now. Imagine those fenders 1/2 the size, and i think you still have a pretty sorry looking car.
Then again, as a poster said above, if the STi drives well (i've given up on the base WRX -- seems that it doesn't even keep up dynamically with an MS3), I'll be in line just like I was in 2001 for the first WRXs to hit the US.
-JT
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