Autoblog

Click image for a high-res gallery of the 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STI

I remember the last red Subaru I drove. I was in high school, and the car was my dad's – a new '88 GL wagon with an automatic and push-button 4WD on the shifter. I dug that Scooby. It wasn't powerful but it was fun -- especially when it snowed. Somehow I managed to avoid bouncing it off a lamppost while sliding it around corners. This had much more to do with luck than skill, as I was in high school and clearly an idiot. But I digress -- after all, this isn't about my dad's old GL. It is, however, about a red Subaru – the new Impreza WRX STI, to be specific. If this thing was around back during my neighborhood rally-pretender salad days, I'd probably just be getting my license back right about now.


All photos Copyright ©2008 Alex Núñez / Weblogs, Inc.

Click above image for more live pics of the Subaru WRX STI

We've gone from being disappointed by the new Impreza, to pleasantly surprised by the WRX, to smitten by the STI. It looked OK in silver as the dust sheet came off, but stunning in metallic black on the Subaru stand's floor. The new STI's exterior details that set it apart from lesser siblings do not appear to be afterthoughts tacked on to a standard family car, but rather the way the family car was supposed to look in the first place.

The interior, too, is better put together and uses better materials than previous offerings from Subaru Tecnica International, but the dash will look pleasingly familiar to fans of the brand. Click below for a gallery taken at the live launch and view Subaru's official press release with all the specs after the jump.



All live photos ©2007 Justin Gardiner / Weblogs, Inc.

Click image for more brochure photos

NASIOC has long been a bonanza of leaked photos and info relatingng to all things Subaru, and today, user "fyinpig" keeps that tradition going with brochure shots of the JDM Subaru Impreza WRX STI ahead of the car's official debut later this month. As you can see, the muscled-up hatch will be available in 7 colors in Japan ("obshidian" black pearl,, anyone?), with three different wheel styles. Inside, there's no shortage of STI logos, so your passengers won't confuse your machine with the standard WRX. Key numbers you'll undoubtedly be interested in include:

• 304 hp @ 6400 rpm
• 311lb-ft @ 4400rpm (41:59 torque split)
  
• Weight: 3263 lb (subtract an additional 22 lbs. if fitted with optional BBS wheels)

Head over to the NASIOC thread for all the info and an ongoing discussion.

[Source: NASIOC]

click above image to enlarge

We've seen more spy shots of the upcoming Subaru Impreza WRX STi than we care to recount, but it looks like the first official image of Subie's road rocket has finally been leaked on the web. While there's been no confirmation from Subaru that this pic is the real deal, it has that official flavor that only press pics seem to have. Unfortunately, this particular pic is dark by nature and obscures many of the elements in which we're interested like the grille and lower front bumper. What we can see is gigantoid hood scoop, mega wide front fenders, and what appears to be a large rear wing out back. The official arrival of the Subaru Impreza WRX STi is imminent, as the debut will take place at the Tokyo Motor Show next month. Suburu will likely release its full batch of official images and specifications before then. Until then, chew on this.

[Source: Carscoop]

We've been a little disappointed by the looks of Subaru's latest Impreza and WRX, but wanted to reserve judgment until the STi showed up. Could that homely hatch design really support the extra muscle that transforms the STi into a rally star? We really wanted to know. There have been tons of renderings and spy shots, but here we have what is possibly the first clear photo of the real deal.

Captured by CARTOP, it was just posted by Nihon Car. It still looks touched up to us, if not completely cgi, but we'll give them the benefit of the doubt for now. Not a lot of changes from WRX to STi are apparent, but the banana-colored Scubie snack looks even more like a Mazdaspeed3 to our eyes. OK, enough harping on the looks. It's not like it's terribly offensive, just a little bland. We're sure driving this 320-hp rocket will change our opinions pretty drastically.

Thanks for the tip, MB!

[Source: Nihon Car]

click either image above to view more pics of each car

Arm your intercoolers, the showdown between the new Mitsubishi EVO X and Subaru WRX STi is almost at hand. KGP Photography recently nabbed both cars doing testing at the famous Nurburgring in Germany, and they are each shaping up to be beasts compared to their pedestrian counterparts. Though Subaru decided to be different and go with a five-door hatchback form, the hump in the back doesn't detract from what the large fenders, deep chin spoiler and gaping maw of an air intake are trying to accomplish. And seriously, can matte black be an available color choice?

The EVO X, meanwhile, has a face that perfectly frames its intercooler in the front bumper for all to see. Add to that a giant rear wing on the trunk and larger multi-spoke wheels, and again it's clear that this car is ready to take up the torch.

Both cars will be all-wheel drive, both will have 300 or more horsepower and both are waiting impatiently to tear the other apart in a decent comparison test. Until then, we give you these galleries to do battle with.

[Source: KGP Photography]

Despite a lopsided fight of four Subarus against one lonely Mitsubishi EVO in our latest RR of the Week poll, the lone EVO proved to be the better car, at least by our voters' standards. It could also be the case that Mitsubishi fans united in support the single EVO, whereas WRX faithful were split between their choices. We'll never know! Regardless, the race was extremely tight with the track tuned EVO attracting 576 votes (30%). The second place finisher in this race, the WRX Wagon, nearly caught the EVO but came up 32 votes short with a total of 544 votes (29%). My favorite, the blacked out Darth Subie, showed up to play with a respectable 360 votes (19%), while the old-school Impreza 2.5 RS was trailing the all-wheel drive Sith transport vehicle by 49 votes with 311 (16%). Last, and certainly not least (unless you go by votes), was the STi-ified bug-eyed WRX with 102 votes (5%).



This week we're going to choose a Camaro each day for the RR of the Day feature, and we need everyone who owns a Camaro to submit his or her ride. We want to make sure all five days are filled with interesting F-bodies, and to do that we need a great group of them from which to choose. Just follow the jump to find instructions on how to submit your ride.

You asked for it, and we're doing our best to listen. Chief on our readership's list was more shots of the Mitsubishi Evo X, which marked its North American debut with its New York appearance.

This red-hot number impresses in person not with its beauty, but with its intimidating nose and massively wide stance. We're happy to report that the showcar's interior is every bit as merciless-looking as the exterior, with metal fittings, racing seats and harnesses, and a dashboard clearly geared toward high-speed driving. The interior's high metal parts count and expensive materials bear out that this is definitely a show piece, but marque devotees can hope for accomodations heavily influenced by this showstopper.

Although no more information was forthcoming, we took a bevy of snapshots in and out for rally fans to drool over, including a couple of high-resolution images. Check them out after the jump!