A rather interesting article on the new WRX (Electric Turbo and Three Door Hatch?)
02-06-2012, 11:33 AM
#1
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A rather interesting article on the new WRX (Electric Turbo and Three Door Hatch?)
All-New Subaru WRX: What to Expect - Motor Trend
The notables
-New BRZ and Forester which will go on sale this year
-The Exiga minivan in 2013
-The all-new WRX (which will diverge from the Impreza platform) and a brand new sport wagon for 2014
-The all-new Legacy in 2015.
Subaru has a 3 stage plan
-Stage 1 (completed) - Direct injection 2.0-liter four-cylinder boxer incorporating Toyota's DS-4 technology for the BRZ
-Stage 2 - Direct injection turbocharged variant of the FA20 2.0-liter
-Stage 3 - High-powered four-cylinder turbo boxer for the next generation WRX. While the final engine capacity has not been decided yet, the consensus inside Subaru is leaning towards downsizing and tweaking the BRZ's FA20 2.0-liter unit into a 1.6-liter turbo featuring new lean-burn technology.
The WRX will have two powerplants
-One is the same old engine layout
-The new one has an electric turbo that will eliminate the piping as the heat energy from the exhaust gasses will create electricity.
-Basically the engine will be more efficient and will eliminate the term turbo lag
What do you guys think?
The notables
-New BRZ and Forester which will go on sale this year
-The Exiga minivan in 2013
-The all-new WRX (which will diverge from the Impreza platform) and a brand new sport wagon for 2014
-The all-new Legacy in 2015.
Subaru has a 3 stage plan
-Stage 1 (completed) - Direct injection 2.0-liter four-cylinder boxer incorporating Toyota's DS-4 technology for the BRZ
-Stage 2 - Direct injection turbocharged variant of the FA20 2.0-liter
-Stage 3 - High-powered four-cylinder turbo boxer for the next generation WRX. While the final engine capacity has not been decided yet, the consensus inside Subaru is leaning towards downsizing and tweaking the BRZ's FA20 2.0-liter unit into a 1.6-liter turbo featuring new lean-burn technology.
The WRX will have two powerplants
-One is the same old engine layout
-The new one has an electric turbo that will eliminate the piping as the heat energy from the exhaust gasses will create electricity.
-Basically the engine will be more efficient and will eliminate the term turbo lag
What do you guys think?
Last edited by Imprezard; 02-06-2012 at 11:35 AM.
02-06-2012, 01:07 PM
#7
If Subaru plans on returning to the WRC, the motor regs are now 1.6L, that's why the road car will have it too, it's for homologation purposes. Lower power, more like less torque, that's why they are testing out a twin charger setup (supercharger for low rev takeoff & turbo for high rev hp). This electric super/turbo charger above is new to me, sounds interesting though. Also, all WRC cars are mainly 3D hatchbacks now, hence to go that route too, i personally love the sound of that, smaller, lighter, wider, meaner, sportier, rally-inspired, hell yeah, sign me up!
02-06-2012, 01:29 PM
#9
02-06-2012, 10:56 PM
#14
Last edited by drewg13; 02-07-2012 at 08:59 AM.
02-07-2012, 03:55 AM
#15
Registered User
Hatchbacks are very successful these days in rallying. Hell, the reason why Subaru switched to a hatchback is because Petter Solberg asked them to do so to make it more competitive. Go take a look at the WRC and see what the top competitors are driving. Oh right, they're hatchbacks, a buncha grocery-getting hatchback wagons...
Riiiight... C'mon, you should know better than that.
And besides, the convenience of a hatch/wagon cannot be ignored. I'm sure a lot of Subaru drivers appreciate the hatch design and the ability to go to the local snowboarding areas.
As for the future of Subaru, I think it's just getting better and better.
The FB engine is a nice upgrade from the SOHC non-turbo EJs, and both FB and FA engines feature DOHC and timing chains
The new Impreza is supposedly much better than the previous generation.
If Subaru of America brings in the Exiga, I think I found myself my future cargo/people mover!
New Forester? Based off of the new Impreza platform?
And the XV (Crosstrek), it promises spirited handling (imagine mountain pass fun) with the off-road capability of the Forester. (oddly enough, the XV is just an Impreza hatch lifted with retuned Forester suspension, and the Forester is based off of the Impreza).
Now here's where it goes wrong: The XV and Forester are in the same category of the market (compact SUV/crossover). So there may be a possibility one or the other will no longer be in the lineup. It truly would be sad for me to see two Subarus attempt to cannibalize each other.