- Subaru hints at the future with its sensational hybrid wagon concept.
- The Advanced Tourer Concept is an update of the 2009 Hybrid Tourer Concept.
- The Advanced Tourer mates an electric motor with a turbocharged 1.6 direct-injection boxer engine.
TOKYO — Forget about the scissors-style front doors, the rear suicide doors and the all-glass panoramic roof. Subaru's Advanced Tourer Concept, unveiled here at the 2011 Tokyo Auto Show, is one hot-looking wagon that just might make it into production in 2014, without a few of the more eye-popping design details.
An update of Subaru's 2009 Hybrid Tourer Concept, the Advanced Tourer is sized between the Impreza and Outback wagons, with cutting-edge styling that is likely to spill over into the automaker's next crop of production cars.
Subaru said the concept was developed as a "new-generation sports wagon" under the theme Revolutionary Sports Tourer. Overall length is 180.3 inches, which makes the Advanced Tourer more than 6 inches longer than an Impreza wagon and 8 inches shorter than an Outback.
The revolutionary aspect may allude to the choice of driveline — an advanced hybrid system that combines an electric motor and a new turbocharged 1.6-liter version of Subaru's direct-injection four-cylinder boxer engine. Look for a production version of the hybrid powertrain to appear in other Subaru cars in 2013.
The concept also features all-wheel drive and Subaru's new Lineartronic continuously variable transmission, which the company describes as the world's first longitudinally mounted chain-drive CVT to be used in mass-produced AWD passenger cars.
Powered by a lithium-ion battery pack and linked to a brake regeneration system, the electric motor can be used exclusively during takeoff and at low speeds.
Other features include a monitor built into the steering wheel that enables access to navigation, video and Web-based apps, as well as an updated version of Subaru's EyeSight video warning system.
Inside Line says: Send it here. Immediately.
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damaje says:
09:01 AM, 12/01/2011
Overall much better looking design than anything Subaru has done in recent years though the interior looks like they borrowed it from a Nissan or Infiniti concept of a couple years ago.
ttbuyer says:
04:54 AM, 12/01/2011
This design is so awkward and unattractive it could be German.
cambino123 says:
02:52 AM, 12/01/2011
kinda looks like an Audi crossed between a stretched out ct200h. Nice lines but not very original
powered_by_k20 says:
12:19 AM, 12/01/2011
Watch out Porsche Panamera a prettier better version just came out!
easym1 says:
09:40 PM, 11/30/2011
This a step forward by Subaru design wise.
kamigo_factory says:
05:59 PM, 11/30/2011
Looks great - sort of like a stretched Toyota Venza that's grown a pair. Too bad that, like the Impreza concept, the production version will be ugified.
leon79 says:
04:45 PM, 11/30/2011
This looks a lot like an Audi to me, thats a good thing.
I agree with some of the others who committed, if Subaru plans to build this please learn from the WRX mishap and do us a huge favor by not diluting out what makes this car so great.
angry_mushroom says:
04:41 PM, 11/30/2011
They'll water it down for production. Happened to the Legacy and Impreza.
300zxguy says:
02:47 PM, 11/30/2011
This looks awesome, but if they have to completely neuter the design to bring it to production, they may as well not bother.
corduroy_gt says:
02:19 PM, 11/30/2011
Just like the Impreza, this concept will suddenly become a very bland car in production form.