Future models of Subaru’s WRX STI will share a platform with a 7-passenger crossover.
It now looks as if Volkswagen’s MQB strategy was just the beginning of a trend. Hot on the heels of Volvo’s SPA announcement, Subaru has confirmed that the Fuji Heavy Industries brand will move its mainline vehicles to a single architecture.
Everything from the Impreza to a seven-seat Tribeca successor will ride on the new set of bones, in a bid to cut costs and shave development time. That said, we imagine the rear-drive BRZ—scheduled to enter its second generation in 2018—won’t sit on the new platform.
Automotive News reports that along with the fresh underpinnings, a new generation of direct-injected lean-burn engines with cylinder deactivation will hit the market in 2016, paired with the first vehicles built on the shared architecture. California and the 12 states that share its zest for environmental regulation will see the arrival of a plug-in hybrid in 2017.
- Car News: Scandinavian Modular: Volvo’s SPA Platform Architecture Detailed
- Car News: More Juice for Japan: Subaru Begins WRX S4 and STI Type S Sales
- Subaru WRX Research: Photos, Reviews, News, and More
Pressed for a guess, we’d wager that the plug-in will be something from Subaru’s smaller line, given today’s Impreza-based XV Crosstrek Hybrid and the fact that a new Impreza is due to bow right around the same time. A BRAT PHEV? Don’t mind of we do.
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