Subaru concept previews next Legacy

Published Nov 8, 2011

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Glancing at the face of Subaru's latest concept car, one could easily think that Subaru has taken a leaf out of Audi's style book.

Just look at that single-frame grilled with beveled upper edges or those chiseled headlights flanked by vertical lines down the bumper in the style of the e-tron concept.

Yet regardless of how you define plagiarism, this concept illustrates that the next Subaru Legacy is not likely to sport a boring design - assuming we can believe the widespread speculation that this concept previews the styling of the next Legacy.

One thing Subaru did divulge, though, is that what lies beneath the concept's bonnet is a foretaste of the company's next-generation petrol engine.

Still in a horizontally opposed layout, as you'd expect, the engine has been downsized from today's size of between 2.0- and 2.5-litres to a cubic capacity of just 1.6-litres. And in line with modern downsizing trends, Subaru has compensated by adding a turbocharger, while direct fuel injection further aids both performance and economy.

In the concept car, the motor is mated to an electric hybrid system that's been integrated with the symmetrical all-wheel drive.

As with the latest hybrids from Toyota, the electric motor and battery even allow the car to drive in electric-only mode during start-up and at low driving speeds.

Inside the concept car, the talking point will be a large monitor screen that's built into the steering wheel for easy viewing of maps, TV and internet services.

Subaru also expended much effort into creating an airy and luxurious ambience, by installing a full glass roof and decking the cabin out with various wood and metal textures.

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