About a year ago we heard that European emissions standards had killed off any hope of a turbocharged version of the Toyobaru sports coupe. That may be true for the European market, but Japan’s Holiday Auto Magazine [as translated by the Toyobaru-crazed gents of FT-86.com] swears that a Subaru STI is under development which could offer a 40 to 50 hp bump over the stock 200 using a 2.5 liter turbocharged engine. Bigger wheels, fender arches and other racerish accoutrement would help set this apart as the only sporty variant of the FT-86 Toyobaru. And Holiday Auto won’t even speculate about a price premium, let alone the model’s chances of escaping the JDM. Still, it would be a great day to see the European market denied a truly desirable sports car that you could buy in the U.S. I want to believe! [Hat Tip:Yuichi]
I’m starting the rumor that Toyota is planning to make a version with the 3UR-FE V8.
Cars equipped with this engine will include 285/40-17 rear tires, side pipes, and a bitchin’ decal package.
+1 ajla
If this thing’s offered through the Scion channel then one of the dealer-installed options could be an obnoxious-sounding, sewer pipe-sized exhaust pipe.
Don’t forget the VTEC sticker, which is essential for these cars.
Of course, they’re standard on the S-class.
Can’t imagine why a turbo would be a problem with Euro emission standards, since they’re less demanding than in the US, and everyone in Europe is going to downsized engines and turbos. I always assumed a turbo was inevitable in this, since Subaru has it all ready to go in various states of tune.
I’m with Paul. The X5 and X6M can use huge twin turbo V8s, but the Subayota coupe can’t make it? What about the FQ EVOs? How the hell can they survive this?
Yeah, there are plenty of Turbo Subarus sold in Europe. Why couldn’t this coupe have one of those engines?
I suspect that the turbo’d motor is being saved for Subaru’s version of the car. It might need it if they’re going to use AWD in the car.
I would love to see a return of the 22B
They must mean CO2 emissions, which are taxed in much of Europe. The corollary of this: the North American market will get the turbo for sure.
Personally, I think Subota sounds better than Toyobaru. But hey – I’m just a doctor.
Yes, Subota means in Russian Saturday.
Note to Paul N. – perhaps with a new subie-ish coupe in the wings, it would be a good time to do a retrospective on the SVX. I’d think you could find one in your area; there seem to be plenty of them on Craigslist in western WA. That was an interesting car that started a lot of styling trends, and not just on Subarus; I think almost everyone copied their directional wheels. Well, to a point – a lot of the copies swing forward on one side of the car, back on the other.
fincar, I’m keeping my eyes peeled for one. Used to be several around, but not lately. But it will happen. Do have the older XT coupe in the can, though.
Yeah- they should call the Subie “XT” or “SVX”. The SVX’s styling was so ahead of it’s time. WTH happened to Subaru styling?
Anyway, with the turbo, this looks like it’ll be the return of the Toyota MR2. Much rejoicing! If they can make it run even with my 335i for under, say, $28k, I’d get one of those for a fun commuter/play car and a RAV4 for when I need more space, clearance, and awd.