Tokyo 2009: Subaru WRX STI Carbon

The Subaru WRX in it’s last generation was a pretty universally loved car, with unforgettable round headlights and excellent performance for the money.

The Subaru WRX in it’s last generation was a pretty universally loved car, with unforgettable round headlights and excellent performance for the money.

It seems as if the car has lost a bit of it's mojo and character since those days, but performance has only continued to get better. At Tokyo 2009, along with a new concept, Subaru has saw fit to introduce a new package for the WRX STI lineup, dubbed the Carbon.

At first you might think it has something to with the environment, but no - carbon in the name WRX STI Carbon is for carbon fiber, not the type of C02 emissions from cars that everyone is convinced is killing the planet. And if you know about carbon fiber, you’ll know it is lightweight. Less weight equals better performance! As such, the new model has a roof made out of carbon fiber.

The totality of changes on the WRX STI Carbon are the carbon fiber roof, a suede interior and a 5-speed automatic sourced from the Legacy. Subaru didn't give numbers on how much weight the carbon fiber roof saves, but just offers that it will achieve a "significant weight reduction" and "lower center of gravity." I suspect we’ll hear more about it in the upcoming days. For now though, all you can do is check out the pictures.

For the next-generation, I think in order to invigorate the Impreza/WRX line, Subaru needs to start from scratch and create a far more expressive vehicle. In a segment with a lot of boring cars, Subaru needs to be the standout once again.

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