Subaru Impreza Coupe by 2010
June 5, 2008 by George Skentzos
This is the boy-racer Impreza we all know and love. Subaru has announced it will produce a coupe version of its Impreza hatchback by 2010.
According to AutoExpress, this is the result of Subaru’s joint venture with Toyota to create an affordable sports coupe, taking on the likes of the Nissan 350Z and upcoming 200SX replacement.
This will be the first two-door Impreza from Subaru in almost a decade, not seen since 399 of the first-generation STi Impreza’s were imported as a two-door exclusively for the Australian market – the 400th fell off the boat.
The coupe takes obvious styling cues from the hatch, but features a much lower slung roof line thanks to the deleted rear doors, and a more aggressive approach on the current Impreza front end.
The engine line-up will be on par with the current range, with a naturally aspirated and turbocharged STi-spec version of the 2.5-litre boxer engine – and that’s only if it makes it to Australia.
As earlier reports suggested, the AWD system will be dropped for entry level models in favour of a lightweight, more affordable rear-drive setup.
Source: AutoExpress
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so is this the new rear wheel drive car or a different one based on the impreza?
It actually looks good in my opinion
Looks hot, i wouldnt mind if this was the final product
Its the RWD Sub-ota / Toy-aru..
Hot
this actually looks very very good….
this is what the current impreza should look like but doesn’t…
Not Bad! Not Bad at all! But I think Subaru are recking there image.
This looks great and sounds fast. Will be a shame if its released in big numbers. Would like to see it marketed to keep it out of reach from boy-racers.
Nice CGI – The rego plate is ued by Vauxhall i believe. Could it be a doctored 3 Dr Astra body with a scoobie front
Good pick up on the plates but am unsure of it’s significance. Regardless that is a fine looking car, now add 2 doors and make it the next Impreza!
Ohh who would have thought that Subaru and Toyota could make a good looking car, well Subaru at least.
i think no-name’s on the money with the astra CGI. it stills looks sweet though.
it reminds me a bit of the Prodrive P2, i would have loved to have seen that car go into production:)
How is this a coupe??? It looks more like a hatchback.
yeah it looks like a 2 door hatchback, its obviously a CGI mock up by an artist nothing more.
The other sketches Ive seen doesnt use the current STI’s rear fender and front fender design….
But come to think of it, now that Toyota is assisting in the quality/manufacturing management of it… wouldnt be surprise if they found a way to incorporate existing parts into the new coupe…
I still want to see the Toyota badged version.. or the Celical/MR-S replacement..
Won’t there be problems with a short wheelbase RWD?
selling a rwd subaru is stupid. there philosophy is awd, and they’re always preaching its benefits. sellouts
Yes, it should have indeed been chosen to be sold as a Toyota rather than a Subaru. Toyota in terms of the sports department need more of a lift than Subaru does. Furthermore, it probably will sell better with a Toyota badge, and lastly, doesn’t conflict with the AWD philosophy at Subaru.
Can anyone answer me why a wiz kid with a computer can turn out a hot looking car body, but the best and brightest in major car companies come up with…. a Nissan Maxima?
Does it really cost that much more to employ a car body designer who can turn out a DB9 instead of a Tiburon (no offence intended Hyundai fans). Adds what 0.005% to the car price?
What’s the deal? It astounds me that someone, no…. probably a bunch of people looked at the final renderings of the first Tribecca and said “yep that front end looks stylish, or wow! I really like the way the back looks like a refrigerator. Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder but butt ugly is universal!
it only says here that rear wheel drive will be on the lower models so jsut import the awd models.But still will this just be an impreza coupe but on a completely differnt platfrom?
change the ninterior from current , that big rectangle in the midlle with HVAC and radi ois ugly
I dont like it,looks too overdone,hope the real one looks better.Small,lightweight Performance RWD,got to be a winner.
Yes!!!!
I’m so happy!!
Hopefully the RWD would still get the turbo as well.
Until a few weeks ago I’ve been against Subaru diluting their unique selling feature by moving away from AWD. But when you think about it they will eventually have to to anyway because of the inherent environmental inefficiency of AWD’s extra drag and the electronics that now nullify most of the AWD advantages for real-world drivers. This is obviously the car that will help them start that big transition.
Good looking car. Agree though, there’s not much of a behind to call it a real coupe, does look more like a hatchback. All in all, good P.S. job.
MarketMaker
I can tell you why, Cars after engineering becomes much less “exciting” than concept art from styling and artists.
Manufacturing/Production has an input on car design. Mainly parts that would cost too much to manufacture or assemble are very difficult to get approval for. As part of the engineering design phase, we try to engineer the car as close as possible to the styling requirements, but then it gets “reviewed” by Manufacturing/Production engineering, and they submit “issues” or “concerns” as well as cost to produce parts.
Not to mention, “Far out” concept designs are “unproven with time”, especially body shell. When you design cars that feature new structures or parts that hasnt been used or implemented before, manufacturing cost goes up… but also many “unknowns” are raised…. its to the best interest of engineering to stick as close to “familiar” structures to reduce cost.
Obviously, Performance, Sports and other “Specialty” vehicles are different, that [1] The high retail price can offset the design/manufacturing cost [2] The unique structure and evaluation of “new” parts can be studied and researched better by having longer R&D time, again this is reflected on the high cost of retail price. [3] Unique cars also tend to be sourced out to external suppliers with specialized tooling, again higher cost.
So basically, when introducing a new shape or new chassis design or other “unique” parts etc, it would either be “watered” down considerably to fit manufacturing requirements or if it adheres very close to the styling… expect it to be in the high price market to justify all the costs associated with its engineering and production.
If Toyota are smart they can build a new Awd or Fwd sport car using the same engine that the Sti has or take some ideas from the Sti engine to build a 4 Cyl Turbo sport car.
Thats what Toyota should do since is working with Subaru.
It always makes me a bit angry that toyota had to change the look of the impreza, personally i like the 2006 and 2007 model
Now that’s more like it. Thats what the current impreza should’ve always been. There’s more excuses needed.