MackayWRX.com

According to a leading Japanese business paper, Subaru is planning CVT transmissions for all models after the 2008-09 business year.

The Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun says that Subaru will fit CVT to its next-generation Legacy starting in 2009, with other models progressively getting the transmission thereafter.

Subaru soldiers on with its perennial quest to cut the fuel thirst of its horizontally-opposed engines. The arrival of CVT, especially linked to the coming Subaru 2.0-liter turbodiesel, should improve things dramatically.

Subaru actually has long experience with CVTs, with small cars like the Justy (pictured) and its exotic 660 cc models in Japan, but to produce a mass-market CVT for higher-powered vehicles like the Impreza, Forester and Legacy requires a huge extra investment.

I’ve posted up a collection of photos i’ve found on the net of the new 2008 Subaru Impreza Range:

Gallery

While dealers will get the first five-door Imprezas late this summer, the performance STi won’t debut until October’s Tokyo Motor Show. As a result, customers will have to make do with the entry-level car until the flagship arrives in 2008. The STi is powered by a tuned version of the 2.5-litre boxer engine, turbocharged to produce more than 300bhp and around 400Nm of torque.

It will be mated to Subaru’s existing six-speed manual box, while a new automated manual, sourced from specialist firm Aisin, is expected to join the line-up when the latest Impreza is facelifted in 2009. That will ensure the hot STi can compete with its arch-rival, the Mitsubishi Evo X, which will get a paddleshift gearbox when it debuts next spring.

The top Impreza gets a range of unique styling additions, including a specially developed bonnet, grille and a wide front bumper with big air intakes. Flared wheelarches house smart 18-inch alloys, which will hide the existing STi’s Brembo brake system. Buyers can expect to see minor tweaks to the all-wheel-drive system, and engineers have also taken the opportunity to tune the handling, thanks to a more compact double wishbone rear suspension set-up.

Inside, the new Impreza range benefits from higher-quality trim, and the STi will also get a pair of supportive bucket seats up front to boost its sporty appeal.

The second Japanese high-performance car to be released in Tokyo this year is the new Mitsubishi Evo X, which is scheduled to appear in the firm’s showrooms accross Europe early next year. It will be offered with the option of a conventional five-speed manual gearbox or a brand new two-pedal clutchless set-up.

Bosses in Europe are expecting a huge 80 per cent of Evo X models to be specified with the paddleshift box, which operates in three modes. Although drivers always have manual control, they can choose from Normal, Sport and – most severe of all – Super­sport settings. The final mode has been designed for use on trackdays, allowing changes to higher gears only when they are absolutely necessary to keep the revs near the red line at all times. Standard Evo X models will be more expensive than the outgoing IX, with entry-level 300bhp variants costing more than 42,000 Euros.

Gallery of WRX STi Vs Mitsubishi EVO X

Subaru fans around the world are wondering whether the WRX name is on the way out after Subaru dropped more than a decade’s worth of branding effort by renaming the Impreza WRX in Japan the S-GT. Also, the neither the WRX (or the S-GT) is being offered to Subaru’s third largest overseas market – the UK. The only turbocharged Impreza to be offered there is the Sti, due in 2008.

According to the company, the name change is because the hand that feeds also has an itchy trigger finger. Product planning viscount Naoyuki Yamauchi says the company aims to take some of the perceived edginess away from the midline sports model. Apparently customers were being scared away by the rally connection, which was at odds with the company’s plan to make the WRX model a volume seller. The ride feel, Yamauchi says, has also been retuned to be less rigid and thus having more mainstream appeal. But alluding to the STi, Yamauchi says the company won’t leave its strong enthusiast base in the lurch. The next year looks like it will be interesting . . .