Subaru’s affordable all-wheel drive rally hero has hit a sales milestone.
Launched as the Impreza WRX in 1994, the Subaru WRX has found 50,000 homes in Australia.
The 50,000th customer was a Queenslander, who laid down their hard earned on a WRX Premium. Subaru threw in five years of servicing and a $5000 accessory pack to mark the occasion.
The milestone comes as Subaru prepares to farewell the current, fourth-generation model and welcome an all-new WRX to its line-up.
Subaru Australia has confirmed the WRX will be in Australia late in 2021 alongside the new BRZ coupe.
Details about the upcoming WRX are hazy, but Subaru Australia managing director Blair Read has confirmed the car would stick to “core Subaru DNA” when it launches.
Given the WRX has combined turbocharged, four-cylinder boxer power with rally-inspired all-wheel drive since the badge’s creation in 1992, it isn’t a stretch to expect the same basic layout in the 2022 model.
The long-awaited fifth-generation of the iconic nameplate is expected to migrate to the Subaru Global Platform architecture underpinning the current Impreza, XV and Outback, as well as the upcoming second-generation Levorg.
It will reportedly upgrade to a version of the turbocharged 2.4-litre flat-four offered in the North American Ascent SUV.
While the Ascent produces 190kW of power and 376Nm of torque, the WRX’s application of the 2.4-litre will reportedly pump out upwards of 213kW.
The WRX will be joined by a new take on the Levorg wagon with a more overt performance focus.
The car we’ll see won’t be the same as the Japanese version, which is powered by a 1.8-litre turbocharged engine with 130kW of power and 300Nm of torque.
Subaru Australia pointed to a faster, more overtly performance-focused version heading our way instead.
“We see Levorg very much as a niche performance product,” Subaru Australia communications boss, David Rowley, told CarExpert.
“While the car in Japan cosmetically will give you some clues, the [Australian] specification will be quite considerably different to what’s in the Japan Domestic Market.
“I think I can say confidently… as a Subaru performance enthusiast you won’t be disappointed by it.”
It’s likely the Australian-market Levorg will share at least some of its hardware with the upcoming WRX.
