Spied - ‘08 Subaru Legacy(?)!
Admittedly, we're not 100-percent sure what Subaru has up its sleeve with this lightly reconstituted Legacy.
Sporting an oversized WRX-esque hood intake and revamped bumper, this could be an as-yet-unseen high-performance model, or the rumored facelift for 2008. It could even be a hybrid testing mule, but that wouldn't appear to justify the aforementioned scoop, let alone what appear to be a pair of well-disguised dual exhausts.
Our spies at KGP Photography report that else appears to be unchanged from the current Legacy, save perhaps the clear-lensed head and taillights (they lack the amber inserts found on 2007 models).
Either way, we dig the Bald Eagle license plate.
(Click through to the jump for more shots!)
Comments
Guy
somehow i hope they are testing their new boxer-style diesel engine.
emulous1974
The front bumper looks like the standard Japanese bumper on the pre 07 legacy's, the rear bumper looks to be of the current outback sedan bumper. Taken out the amber trim piece from the front headlights is something I've already done to mine. All U.S. Legacy's => '05 have dual exhausts including the normally aspirated versions, with single tailpipes on each side at the rear. If you notice in the pic that the exhaust tailpipe is dual, but only on one side, which leads me to guess with the larger hood scope and single exhaust (almost similar to the Impreza STI) that this might be a higher-performance version that so many of us having been asking for.
Maybe it's just wishful thinking.
Tim
I don't think a diesel would need a hood scoop like that. It has to be something turbocharged, maybe a TPH - turbo-parallel-hybrid, or possibly a turbo H6?
Tom
Maybe this time they'll give us a wagon version too?
Dan Smith
WELL, IT'S CLEARLY NOT A STYLING EXERCISE. I THINK ANDREAS ZAPATINAS WOULD ALREADY BE OUT LOOKING FOR A NEW JOB, IF THAT WAS THE CASE... MAYBE HONDA'S SH-AWD SYSTEM HAS SENT SUBIE REELING, AND THEY'RE LOOKING TO DEVELOP A NEW, MORE REFINED AWD SYSTEM OF THEIR OWN. AND AS TO THE EXTRA-LARGE HOOD VENT; MAYBE THERE'S AN STI BOXER-SIX UNDER THE HOOD, AND AT THIS STAGE IN ITS DEVELOPMENT, THEY JUST WANT TO KEEP BIG AIR ON THE INTERCOOLER... OR COULD THIS BE A TEST MULE FOR THE REAL WORLD B11S? KEEP IN MIND THAT AERO AND BODY-SPECIFIC DEVELOPMENT CAN BE DONE BOTH THROUGH COMPUTER MODELING AND WIND TUNNEL STUDIES IN HIGH SECURITY AREAS.
THINK ABOUT IT. IT'S ABOUT TIME FOR SUBARU'S WEALTH OF OFF ROAD PROGRAMS TO PAY OFF IN MORE REFINED AND EXPENSIVE STREET MACHINES. KEEP IN MIND THAT TOYOTA IS NOW THE PARENT COMPANY. AND FOR THEM, THE BOTTOM LINE IS CASH, NOT TROPHIES. BESIDES, SUBARU HAS BEEN DEVELOPING A TURBO FLAT-SIX FOR SEVERAL YEARS, NOW. A POWERPLANT THAT DEVELOPS AT LEAST 400 HP. DROP THAT BAD BOY INTO A THOROUGHLY DETAILED B11S WITH AN AZ DESIGNER LABEL, ALONG WITH A NEW AWD SYSTEM... I KNOW THAT IT SOUNDS MORE THAN A LITTLE BALLSY, BUT UNLESS YOU'VE GOT LEATHER COJONES, MAYBE YOU'D BETTER GET A JOB DELIVERING EGGS.
THE B11S ALREADY LOOKS LIKE A '60S VINTAGE ALFA. AND AFTER BEING THOROUGHLY RE-DRAWN AND ENDLESSLY POLISHED BY SUBARU'S OWN IN-HOUSE STYLING GURU, THAT BABY WOULD BE HOT TO TROT; KIND OF LIKE A LATTER DAY LANCIA STRATOS, IF YOU WILL. THINK OF IT AS TOYOTA'S OWN UN-LF-A.
IF A STUNNINGLY HOT AND MARKET-SUCCESSFUL B11S SUDDENLY BREAKS COVER, THE PUBLIC WILL QUICKLY FORGET ALL ABOUT THE UNDER-APPRECIATED SVX. I KNOW THIS IS AN AWFUL LOT TO DIGEST AT ONE SITTING, BUT I'VE OFTEN THOUGHT THAT TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING WASN'T ENOUGH.
I'M DAN SMITH.
Tim
An update to my previous comments:
It could be a turbo diesel, other sites' posters (NASIOC.com, LegacyGT.com) seem to lean towards it being a testbed for the next Impreza drivetrain, since it is Legacy-based, pointing to the apparent lack of standard Legacy exhausts and the STI hood scoop.
It definitely has a JDM/EDM front bumper (shorter than current USDM), but we ARE getting a shorter bumer for '08 - they redesigned the US bumper assembly so it doesn't stick out so much. That they still have the current grille in there shows the basic structure there is little changed.
Spy Shots: high-performance 2008 Subaru Legacy? -- Auto Insi
[...] ## Source: Winding Road ## [...]
Frank Rizzo
STOP SHOUTING. Congrats on your new AOL subscription and getting online. Now please turn off your caps lock. Are you really that lazy you can't press shift and another button for a capital letter?
» Segredo: Subaru Legacy super esportivo??- Super Carros, No
[...] O pessoal do site Winding Road tem um novo pacotinho de fotos secretas pra nos alegrar, desta vez de um Subaru Legacy com uma frente um pouco diferente e com uma entrada de ar enorme no capô. Em maio, a nova geração da família Legacy estreou no Japão, e no mês que vem vai aparecer em Paris, para depois disso, ser lançada no resto do mundo. [...]
Tim
Responding to Mr. Dan CAPS-LOCK Smith:
I would recommend checking facts before writing.
Andreas Zapatinas has already been fired, and this Legacy (sans duct-taped '05 STI hood scoop) was designed long before Zap came around.
Honda's SH-AWD would never send Subaru reeling, as Subaru already has one of the best AWD system on the market - full-time, synchronous AWD. Honda is playing catch-up.
The B11S rumors have been shot down long ago, though there are the occasional rumors of a turbo H6 still being developed, though that rumor got tempered by rumors of emissions problems (which they should eventually be able to solve).
Subaru's wealth of off-road programs have been paying off for at least a dozen years already.
Toyota DOES NOT, I repeat, DOES NOT own Subaru. Toyota bought approximately half of the shares GM had in FHI, Subaru's parent company. I believe it's around 12%, not even close to a controlling interest.
The 400 hp powerplant to which you refer is the one in the B11S prototype from 2003, which put out around 400 hp without any emissions equipment or mufflers. In street-legal trim it would be around 350 hp.
There is probably still a remote possibility of the B11S being made, but the American Subaru sales won't support them selling it here. We've heard several times that they haven't brought other Subaru models (that other countries already get) here because sales are not up to a level that would support additional models. Considering that, there's almost no chance of the B11S in the near future.
This is most likely a test mule for the powerplant for the next-generation Impreza, since it will be based on a shortened Legacy chassis. There is a remote possibility of this vehicle containing a turbo-diesel, turbo-parallel hybrid, or, more remotely, a turbo H6.
Considering that the car looks EDM stock (USDM front bumper is longer than this example) aside from missing the exhaust tips (and having the tacky '05 STI scoop duct-taped on), it's probably just the Impreza drivetrain being tested.
mr.ed
This is one make that is in dire need of a more modern image. This is basically a 1990 Legacy with some little facelifts. And please, let's not ever see the kind of baroque ugliness pasted on the fronts of the other vehicles from these guys.
Phil
"This is one make that is in dire need of a more modern image. This is basically a 1990 Legacy with some little facelifts"
What?!! The legacy has undergone some serious incarnations since the first legacy. We have had all turbo versions in New Zealand, each model has improved with technology and looks since the first!!
Laurence
"“This is one make that is in dire need of a more modern image. This is basically a 1990 Legacy with some little facelifts
Randy
I wish it were Diesel or hybrid, but neither would have dual exhaust.
rv
Honda does AWD? Yawnda has Subaru reeling?!? LOL! You can't be talking about the joke of a system in the Pilot and CR-V. That would actually be FWD with minimal rear assist, doesn't seem like Yawnda should have the right to even claim to have an "All Wheel Drive" system. And I'm not sure why you'd compare a primarily FWD cheap econocar maker with Subaru - strange... You should see a Yawnda "SUV" try to make it up a hill - funny stuff. Actually, speaking of Subaru's AWD system - here's comparisons against Volvo/Yawnda/etc. - note Yawnda's front wheels doing most of the spinning. Also note the front wheels ONLY spinning and none of that moving a car is supposed to do when you step on the gas. For a humbling Yawnda experience - test drive a top of the line C-RV, then drive a Forester XT Sport. Like going from a go cart to a - well, real car. Different strokes...
Enjoy;
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Q7dVFY5CxT0
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