Here is my short dissertation on that one. This is close to the sketch we have seen before, which lends a little credibility, and has features of the several interation/fakes of the past year. But a fake, I believe, it is. Here is my opening argument: members of the Jury, as we have read in a few articles here, the higher upps at Subaru, along with some media people were invited to see the car in Japan at a track under VERY tight security. And NO pictures were allowed. So, how did Autocar get them? Internal Spy/disgruntled employee? Possible but unlikely. They would have weeded them out by now just to keep things quiet. What about the masking job? Why show just the car and not a background? If these were final/production pictures, would they not have a background for scale and promotion? Ok, they could have edited out the background to hide where the picture was taken, but then again why waste the time? The edit job is good, but too good, cause the shadows are too sharp. Looking at the shadow under the car, you can see just barely what looks like asphalt(sp?), or am I just looking too hard? The wheels. Why do a total redesign of the body and use last years wheels? Cost savings....ok, but wouldn't that take away from the whole redesign? I mean why buy a Porsche and put 14's on it? The exhaust. What the hell is that, a soda straw? My granny's walker has a bigger tip than that one! And last of my blowhard tirade is this : Why is it that Autocar has the picture first, and not some rag in Japan? Now thats one I wanna hear some conjecture on! Now we all know how die-hard car fans the Japanese are, so why is it thaty THEY didn't break it first. I really doubt that there is a new WRX in GB to take a picture of. Possible but not likely. Just a few pieces of chum for the feedingfrenzy. So lets have at it. Tell me wehat you think. I rest my case. Members of the jury, you have your instructions. You will now be sequstered for your verdict.

Lovejoy

 

i agree totally.

as fake as they come.

if they are real it's Evo VII for me.

 

At last a bit of sense!! those pictures look like they were made with 'CorelDraw' ....I agree with you 100% they are complete tut!!!!

 

Lovejoy,
You may have a point, the fact that it had MY98 wheels on put a couple of doubts in my mind.
Does anybody from IM/Subaru read this board, if so any comments??

Graham

 

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by moz.g:
<B>Lovejoy,
You may have a point, the fact that it had MY98 wheels on put a couple of doubts in my mind.
Does anybody from IM/Subaru read this board, if so any comments??

Graham[/quote]

We have gotten some supposed comfirmation on the US board that Subaru does look in from time to time. I'm sure they are reading our posts.

Lovejoy

 

Hi,

I had the same thoughts about those pictures, but I was taking to my dealer about them today and he seems to think that is what you are gonna get.
You never know it might grow on you.

SteveM

 

Hi,

The pictures are real! I know for sure! Autovisie (Dutch mag.) published another set of pictures today. A friend of mine took them on his vacation. Same car.

If Autocar hadn't published these he would have made A LOT of money on the pictures.

By the way: the Impreza has improved a lot. It has become a mucher nicer looking car.

Gr.

Patrick

P.S. If Subaru is reading this BBS they could have known we were about to publish the real pictures and maybe that made them decide to send some pictures of their own after all.

[This message has been edited by TheMrPorsche (edited 27-07-2000).]

 

The doors look identical to a 5-door Civic whether they are real or not...

Thanks

Gavin

 

Lovejoy,

Unfortunately I am going to have to disagree with you. To save going through the whole thing again, I would refer you to my reply to Suresh on

 

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by Josh L:
<B>Lovejoy,

Unfortunately I am going to have to disagree with you. To save going through the whole thing again, I would refer you to my reply to Suresh on

 

Despite my support for the new model piccies it doesn't appear to have any seats, at least not high back buckets like the current model.

A design oversight?

Ed

 

Looking at the text of the article, it mentions that the car pictured is a 'rally special WRX'. Could this account for the wheels and the fact that it looks jacked up and generally sh!te.

Praps it'll look better with proper wheels and ride height or maybe it'll just grow on us. I sure hope so or i'll start looking at S2000, IS200, hell even a Volvo S40 looks an attractive proposition compared to this ... YUK!

I guess the current model has taken several styling revisions to give it the 'hard' look so maybe the new one will evolve similarly.

 

If Subaru have been clever and released preproduction pictures to gauge reaction then I think the reaction speaks for itself. The RS guys are having a field day .

My opinion at the moment is that I am not spending 25K on a car that looks like that .

I am a die hard scooby fan from the moment I drove the first wheel a metre in the car. I nearly put a deposit down a month or so ago with my dealer.

If the car looks as bad in the flesh then there are a number of options

Look for a 2nd hand P1, STi or 22B. If all else fails and I really hate saying this but it looks like an EVO might be my next car .

If SUK/IM are reading this you have a target audience.

LISTEN UP GUYS AND DONT BLOW IT !!!!!!


Only time will tell I guess

They use to say as fake as a two pound coin as well

cheers

chrisp

[This message has been edited by chrisp (edited 27-07-2000).]

 

If the pictures are the real deal, and i suspect they are pretty close, then its far to late in the day to do anything about it, even if FHI were reading it, as the new production lines are being installed or have been already with all the new tooling !!!!

 

Here's my 2 pence worth:

The blue car had SUBARU lettering on the boot lid. The red car doesn't.

Why? I don't know.

Also, having been watching 'scoop' shots in CAR magazine for the last 10 years, I have always been intrigued by them. I keep all my magazines, and often refer to them when a model hits the road, just to see how accurate the spy shots really were.

In my humble opinion, and without reading the above debate too carefully, I would say that the pictures are from midway through the development stage. The sort of shots that are maybe released to magazines later, because the car looks significantly different now. I reckon you can trust the outline, but not too much of the detail.

I really don't believe they are fakes, ie. I don't believe someone has fabricated them by themselves on a computer etc. They look far too much like what I'm used to seeing every month in CAR. No, I think what will end up in the showrooms will be somewhat different. It'll have the important styling updates that could turn even that horrendous shape into a half decent looking car.

That's me anyway.

 

The current car is by common consent dull and ugly.

But Subaru have pulled off the impossible and surpassed even that!
The replacement is a laughably hideous amlgamation of the worst of Chrysler with some Granada Scorpio thrown in for good measure.

[This message has been edited by zoog (edited 27-07-2000).]

[This message has been edited by zoog (edited 27-07-2000).]

 

Just a little addition to support my paranoid fantasy.......the front wheels.

Opportunist pix? I don't think so!

Has anyone else noticed that for some shots (particularly the shots from an elevated position) the wheels have been centred, whilst for the others they point to the right?

Being a professional photographer with a superb eye for detail, I'd like to say I noticed it but it was my Wife!

Josh

PS Maybe the Subaru letters present on the Swiss pix only appear on the Turbo, and are absent on the WRX. Sorry, just thought I'd say something based on reasoning rather than paranoid conspiracy theories. My brain hurts!

[This message has been edited by Josh L (edited 27-07-2000).]

 

Just a thought......

We are all assuming that these photos are of the final production car. How do we know that this isn't some mock-up prototype?

I point to the windows, and the whole top half of the car, which looks exactly like the current model (same windscreen wipers et al). I wonder if this isn't some MY9X car with some experimental bolt on wings?

Lets hope these pics were taken quite some time ago, and that the 'styling' has been improved upon. I mean, surely that can't be *serious* about that rear wing????

Dave

 

Guys, please bear in mind that the pictures of the P1 a few months back in Autocar (the white one) were actually augmented by Subaru U.K - They wer'nt 'spy shots' at all. Could the 2001MY pictures just be something to throw everybody off the scent.

 

There is no way this pic is fake:


Personally I like how it looks. I won't be able to afford it, but I like it.


MattC
the yank!

 

To add to it...heres the rear end...



Glad I have a MY00...

 

Can we ask where these pictures are from Guys?

I have to concede the car looks better as a side profile, but it's still awful front and back. Especially back...

blubs

 

At least the wheels and colour are better, shame the rest is still bloody awful.

I think that might put an end to our ideas about the Autocar shots being fake then.

Now I really want a P1.

 

I'd like to know where they came from as well. Especially as the car looks exactly like the one photographed in Switzerland (Wheels, Colour & no spoiler)

As I was saying about opportunist pix. That's what I'd call these, and yet he/she has managed a side on shot which is better than anything in Autocar.

Josh

[This message has been edited by Josh L (edited 28-07-2000).]

 

So Josh are you keeping your deposit on the MY01 ?. Should Suzzane wait for your call.

Jonathan

 

And the Front...
not sure I Like it...


Scoop can be found here...notice these pictures are at the DOCKS in Japan...

 

I think I'll stick with my MY00. I like the wheels though (Legacy-esque). I was looking at up grading from my current 16"s to 17"s and I think these will do nicely and they'll be Subaru approved. I take it the brake set-up is still similar.

Mojo

 

Looks even worse from that angle, definately a hyundai with a bonnet scoop and big wheels.

 

This is not good..have u seen the size of the steering wheel!! jesus!

I hope this is the equivelant of the NA impreza 1.8 C'z, but it does say WRX..oh dear!

 

The car above is right hand drive, so I assume this is for the US market?. Would they also change the bodywork styling for the US? Maybe the UK version will look better, but I can not see how.

NOTE. I said previously that it was starting to grow on me. Now I've changed my mind