Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Next-gen Subaru WRX targeting downsized 2.0-liter four that's upsized to 270 hp

WRX. Those three letters tell automotive enthusiasts the world over that they are not dealing with an ordinary Impreza, and it all began in rally racing with a 2.0-liter turbocharged flat-four engine. Though some models – including the current WRX and STI in the United States – had engines displacing as much as 2.5 liters, the WRX earned its reputation with 2.0 liters, and that's the displacement specified for competition use.

According to Motor Trend, the 2013 WRX, which will likely debut sometime in 2012, will go back to its original engine size. The new powerplant will reportedly be based on the engine found in the 2013 Subaru BRZ, a clean-sheet design for Subaru, with the addition of the expected turbocharger. That ought to bring power up from 200 horsepower to about 270.

Now we come to the question of what platform in which the engine will reside. While common sense would dictate that the latest version of the Impreza, which was recently released as a 2012 model, would get the WRX treatment, we've heard rumblings that Subaru would keep its current WRX shell around for a few more years while it continues development of the next chassis. Only time will tell.

http://www.autoblog.com/2011/12/08/n...four-thats-up/

MPLexus301

iTrader: (3)

This neeeds to make it's way into the BRZ.

mmarshall

The current (2012) WRX/STi are, as the article suggests, basically carryover-models from the last-generation 2011. They were NOT redesigned along with the new 2012 Impreza line. Nor is the WRX/STi line, for marketing purposes, officially considered part of the Impreza line any more. In the future, the turbo models, regardless of what platform they are eventually based on, will be marketed as separate lines.

Not only that, but the Outback Sport nameplate is also gone from the Impreza line. The former Outback Sport is now the Impreza Sport, in Premium and Limited versions. Next year, in 2013, an all-new, raised-suspension version will be released...it is now tagged the HV hatchback.

I just completed a full-review on the new 2012 Impreza.....I'll have it up and posted later today.

SLegacy99

So then we will likely see this engine in the Legacy GT. Sounds good.