Filed under: Sedans/Saloons, Wagons/Estates, Subaru, Rumormill
Subaru Legacy STI rumored to have 450 hp
When another batch of spy photos of the upcoming Subaru Exiga surfaced yesterday, we didn't give it much thought. We pretty much know the styling direction and dimensions of Subaru's new people mover, but one portion of AutoExpress' article caught our attention. In addition to the Exiga joining a new Legacy sedan and Outback wagon in 2009, Subaru's future drivetrain plans include dropping the 3.0-liter boxer and reworking the 2.0- and 2.5-liter engines to increase efficiency and power. The naturally aspirated 2.0-liter will supposedly produce 200 hp, while the current turbocharged 2.5-liter will exceed 300 hp. While neither of which is huge news, AE also mentions that a Legacy STI is on the way with a turbo'd 3.7-liter producing close to 450 hp. Whether or not such a beast will actually come about is open to debate, but when it does, we hope that Subaru has the foresight to make it available in the U.S.
[Source: AutoExpress]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Evotec 3:03PM (5/29/2008)
No way subaru is going to make something with 400 hp
Reply
Ben 3:07PM (5/29/2008)
Looks like an XF/Audi. I kinda like it.
Reply
Justin 3:18PM (5/29/2008)
that is the current front end of Legacy STI wagon from Japan/Australia. We just don't get those bumpers here since Subaru of America is run by ancient useless employees with no sense of the brand and its possibilities for success.
Most of their best people were recruited by Honda already and SoA stupidly let them go. I met with a few of Fuji Heavy's engineering team on the new Impreza / Forester / Tribeca back in January, it was a nightmare to hear the ideas that were being pushed on them as good for the North American market. E85 Ethanol, chrome like a cadillac, etc. it's just ugly.
mk 3:25PM (5/29/2008)
Justin...
STOP SCARING ME LIKE THAT!!!
Cold shiver down my spine.
User 11:13PM (5/29/2008)
Do us a favor and apply for a job at Subaru, Justin. You gotta set 'em straight.
4agze 3:08PM (5/29/2008)
now thats a good news
Reply
Alex 3:09PM (5/29/2008)
talk about a sleeper!
Reply
Dave in MI 3:15PM (5/29/2008)
It may happen, but it won't come to these shores.
Reply
ken_aisin 3:19PM (5/29/2008)
I doubt it would come to this shore too. But I don't really care because we'll be getting the GT-R.
SPG 3:21PM (5/29/2008)
I question the reliability of a wildly boosted engine like that.
I'd be happy with three hundred horsepower out of this car, very happy.
Reply
mk 3:41PM (5/29/2008)
I *AM* happy with 300hp out of a Subaru Legacy.
'sgood, 'sgooooood. [/bruce almighty]
An exhaust upgrade, a panel filter, and an ECU tune, and you are THERE.
A set of STI take-off parts, just the turbo, intercooler, and intake manifold, and a slightly more aggressive tune, and you are at something equivalent to WRX STI stage I or II.
Add brembo brakes, bilsteins, and STI pink springs, and maybe some anti-roll bars to the mix, with a Spec B with a 6MT, you have a Legacy STI, only missing the DCCD, and "official" blessing from the factory.
It is a puzzle to me why Subaru doesn't sell it in that configuration. It can't possibly cost as much as it does to buy and swap all those parts, if you assemble it that way on the factory floor.
BTW, if a Legacy STI were to have north of 450hp, it would be a turbocharged (possibly twin turbocharged) H6, not an over-boosted H4. Aftermarket 3.0R H6 engines rebuilt for turbocharging are making 450 horsepower on un-optimized tuning.
Cobb, Perrin, and other Subaru tuners have been playing around a bit with them. The bored and stroked 3.6, reconfigured for turbocharging (even if it has to be de-stroked with normal con rods) has even more potential, and 450hp is probably well within feasibility.
However, I don't have a whole lot of faith in SOA that we'll see this rolling out of Lafayette Indiana's SIA plant any day soon, for the US market. It may stay in the aftermarket realm. Unfortunately.
Will 5:27PM (5/29/2008)
The reason Subaru doesn't sell it in that configuration is that there are about 30 Americans who are interested in buying a powerful Japanese AWD wagon with a manual trans.
There's a reason the Legacy GT wagon and the Forester XT 5-speed died- everyone talks them up on the Internet, journalists give them glowing reviews aaaaaand... nobody buys them. It's enough to make me lose my faith in the car-buying public.
MajorGeek 3:21PM (5/29/2008)
Don't matter much to Subaru lovers. My wife dropped her BMW 325XI after the latest redesign and is on her second Subaru since her 2002 BWM with no regrets. I must admit, they make a very nice car at a fair price. Her current Legacy is loaded right up to heated windshield wipers and cost 27k.
Reply
mk 3:23PM (5/29/2008)
After seeing Perrin's and other aftermarket turbocharged H6s... 450hp and torque sounds about right. And sounds FANTASTIC.
However, with the likelyhood that the S402 will not be leaving japan, and SOA's history of treating the Legacy like their red-headed step-child...
I'll believe it when I see one on the lot.
However, once I see one, I'll scrimp, save, sell, or whatever to buy one, especially in WR Blue.
However, if the Exiga is an indication, the MY'10 and later cars may not be as handsome as the 05-09 (04-09 JDM) Legacies are.
A 3.6 re-tooled and re-tuned for turbocharging, or possibly even Direct Injection... with Subaru's Dual AVCS valve timing system... Fan-bloody-tastic engine. Second only to the Porsche turbocharged flat-6, at at least twice the price for the car.
Reply
Corey Smith 3:26PM (5/29/2008)
Oh. My. God.
Please let Subaru USA bring this over here. Sleeper of the century...
Reply
broosewee 3:28PM (5/29/2008)
I hope this doesn't happen. It would break my heart too much not to see this come to the US.
Reply
Joe 3:34PM (5/29/2008)
if they actually did do this, it might make me give Subaru another look...
Reply
Justin 3:38PM (5/29/2008)
If Subaru doesn't have something like this by the time my current Legacy lease is up, my money and loyalties will go to the B8 chassis S4 with Audi's new FI six.
Reply
Geeky1 4:01PM (5/29/2008)
Make sure you get the extended warranty with that...
Justin 4:18PM (5/29/2008)
Leasing. I don't buy depreciating assets. Considering Subaru's maintenance intervals and cost over a lease compared to Audi's, short of some freak lemon that either company can have I'll spend less money and time in an Audi dealership over a 2 or 3 year lease than I would in the same Subaru lease. Plus, Audi gives you a 1% discount on leases if you buy their Audi Care prepaid maintenance. All in all you'll pay $150-$300 tops for 45,000 miles of maintenance on an Audi lease compared to well over $2000 on the same Subaru, and only have to make the stop half as often as Audi has a 10,000 mile interval to Subaru's 3750 mile.