If anybody teared away when Subaru brought out the 2015 WRX as a sedan and said theyre not going to make a hatch any more, you guys should know youre not alone. Theres just something that screams rally car about that body style and theres no shortage of fans, especially in America, to tell Subaru they got it wrong.
Theyre so numerous, in fact, that the Japanese automaker might reconsider their initial decision. WRX project general manager, Masuo Takatsu, was in Australia for the hot sedans launch there and stated that 50% of WRX sales in America came from the hatch. Since the US is their biggest market in the world, Subaru are now considering adding another WRX family member.
Reading between the lines of Masuo Takatsus statement, Subaru actually wanted to make the hatch all along, but because of the lack of resources it couldnt. He also blames limited engineering power for the fact that theres no automatic version of the STI.
Most of their resources have gone into chassis development and that new 2.0-liter turbo boxer engine. The 2.5 in the STI is a carryover while the Lineatronic automatic offered as an option is actually a CVT theyve borrowed from the Forester and re-engineered to simulate fake gears and holt onto higher revs.
The fourth generation Impreza already has the hatchback body style. It was launched in Japan back in December 2011 under the Impreza Sport (pictured above) name and features a 2.0-liter atmospheric boxer with 150 hp. Japan is a crucial market for the WRX, second only to the US.
The main target for WRX is the US. Japan is number two, Australia number three. Basically, we target these three markets, Takatsu.
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