In the Facebook comments, I already see people equating the upcoming 718 engines with Subaru EJs. Now, when has Porsche ever not blazed their own trail? Porsche will almost certainly ensure this engine will generate glorious (or at least non-nasty) sounds. Subaru’s trademark sounds are due to the EJs running unequal-length headers. I highly doubt Porsche will do something stupid like adopt unequal length headers, especially if they opt to use twin-scroll turbochargers. With luxury-sport cars such as these Porsche variants, they’re going to ensure the car sounds like it looks…fast, powerful, and sleek.
The wife and I bought a 2001 Jeep Wrangler Sport 4.0L last weekend. Not surprisingly, it has 169,000 miles but is in good condition, other than some rust I’ve discovered. About the only immediate care it needs right now is new tires (already on order…OEM sizes in all-season flavor for now) and a couple of lug nuts. The soft top is new, so there’s no worry about leaks and such, although we’d actually been looking for a hard top. It has a tow hitch (which is great…I can use it to tow my motorcycle, but I’ll have to get a cheap trailer). Oh, and the headlamps aren’t the brightest…wondering if one is new and one is old, which means I could replace the old one with a new one, which might help the brightness. My wife said when I was driving behind her that the driver’s side lamp is bright and the other isn’t…that might also mean that the lamps need to be aligned.
I’ll admit that I haven’t driven my STI all week because of the Jeep. I’ve been trying to spend time with the Jeep to give it a thorough shakedown since the wife and daughter will be driving it regularly…I (and they) need to be able to trust it, which means I’ve to drive the hell out of it and ferret out any issues.
The bottom line is, Porsche’s all turbo lineup of boxer four-cylinder engines will replace flat-sixes in all but the highest-tier, limited-edition cars.
Boxster and Cayman turbocharged flat fours will have between 240 and 370 HP, per Road & Track magazine:
Here’s how the pie is being cut: base model cars should see 240 hp from their single-turbo two-liter. Step up to an “S” and displacement jumps to 2.5 liters, and output would be 300 hp. GTS models would receive a 370 hp 2.5-liter, a little below what Porsche CEO Mattias Müller indicated would be the theoretical maximum output of a turbo flat four in the Boxman.?
Car & Driver reports:
Only the ultra-high-performance Boxster Spyder and Cayman GT4 are said to retain their naturally aspirated flat-six engine, a 3.8-liter unit. Which is sure to make them even more highly desired than they already are. Meanwhile, one has to wonder whether the base, S, and GTS versions of the current Boxster/Cayman are destined to become depreciation-proof used cars, in the same vein as the final air-cooled 911 models.
“Should I have splurged on an STI?” It’s a question all Subaru WRX owners ask themselves at some point. We’re no exception. We’ve enjoyed our Four Seasons 2015 Subaru WRX Premium, but from the very beginning have wondered whether we should have sought those three extra letters. It came to a head when a 2016 Subaru WRX STI arrived at our office for two weeks, wearing the same shade of blue pearl paint as our car.”
Many people insist that the current (2015-2016) WRX is equal or even better than the current STI. This is mainly due to the ultra-tunability of the WRX’s FA20DIT engine, the fact that it has a broader spread of torque through it’s rev range than an STI, and the fact that it’s cheaper.
I’ve been instisting that the STI is the better car because it’s more track-tuned. No, not everyone is interested in track driving, but we’re talking about cars with rally heritage here (both the WRX and the STI shares that heritage). It’s funny that the WRX supporters appear to conveniently forget this to support their argument but it is almost always mentioned when someone compares the WRX to a FWD or RWD car.
What I love about this article is that they highlight the WRX’s street strengths (it’s torque availability across the rev range) while also showing that the STI is the better car when it comes to spirited driving (it’s edgier and those edges become a negative aspect in daily driving, but become positive once the pace increases).
On the track, that immediacy gives the STI a clear advantage. More aggressive torque vectoring helps it claw through corners more quickly, and more communicative steering lets you approach the limits of adhesion with greater confidence. “It’s a WRX with all the slop and bushings and hesitation removed,” says Holmes. Even here, however, we’re talking about the difference between good and great. We’ve taken our Four Seasons WRX to the track; it’s no slouch.
I’ve said the following many times, too:
Making a decision between them boils down to how you’ll be using your Subaru. If you plan to spend lots of time at the racetrack, figure out how to scratch together the extra $8,100 for an STI. Its superior suspension and sensitive controls simply make it a more rewarding car to drive at ten-tenths.
Both cars are great. One is less focused but great for the street, while one is track-focused and great for the track. Run either one out of their element and their weaknesses will show.
I usually frown upon articles that compare the two cars. They’re not made to compete against each other. Back in the day when there was the Ford Mustang LX 5.0 and the Ford Mustang GT, you rarely saw articles comparing the two. You didn’t see comparisons of Suzuki’s B-King and their Hayabusa, either. You don’t normally see comparisons of Dodge’s Hemi-powered Charger SRT and their non-SRT Charger. You typically don’t see the Porsche Cayman base model compared to the Cayman GTS, yet so many people get wrapped around the axle in trying to compare the STI and WRX. I don’t really get it. They’re two different cars that focus on two different markets. Buy what you want and be happy about it (without trying to justify which is better because of your subjective view).
Lastly, no, you can’t buy a WRX and tack on the parts that it lacks ($8000+) to make it equal an STI. You’ll run out of that extra $8000 in savings well before you end up with an STI equivalent…and you’ll still just have an WRX. The STI’s 6-speed alone justifies it’s higher price, but the STI is the sum of it’s parts…they’re all tuned to make the STI what it is. I DO NOT hate the WRX, but it is the base product of the product line.
UPDATE:
Here’s a video I just found that has an opinion (I don’t really agree with ALL of it but it does mention some things I didn’t comment on) —
The Volkswagen Golf R? The Subaru WRX STI? Ford rooster-tails sand in their faces with the announcement that the awesome new Focus RS will make a staggering 345 horsepower from its 2.3-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder. The VW packs 292 horsepower, the STI 305.
Ford claimed “more than 315 horsepower” when it first detailed the car in February, and this announcement more than fulfills that promise. The word comes ahead of the 2015 Goodwood Festival of Speed, where Ford rally driver and RS development consultant Ken Block will run the all-wheel-drive superhatch up the hill.
Also confirmed: the RS’s torque figure, which comes in at 325 lb-ft between 2000 and 4500 rpm. An overboost function allows for a maximum of 347 lb-ft for up to 15 seconds when the driver’s right foot is buried against the firewall. (For further comparison, the Golf R peaks at 280 lb-ft and the STI at 290.) The EcoBoost’s rev limiter cuts in at 6800 rpm.
People continue to harp that this is more than the Subaru WRX STI. Yes it is…that’s extremely obvious. But there are some things that Subaru has going for it’s flagship.
The WRX STI will be a LOT cheaper and less limited, production-wise.
As well, the Subaru offers true AWD. Having 100% power directed to the rears or fronts means that the car isn’t really AWD. Yes, such a system gives better fuel economy, but I highly doubt it’s going to be as agile in inclement weather with such a system. Subaru’s AWD technology is very much second-to-none when compared to all cars in it’s category and several outside of it’s genre.
Resale value will be another item to ponder with the Focus RS, even with it being sold in limited qualities, will they retain value as well as Subaru’s STIs? Blue Book value one a 2011 Subaru WRX STI that was sold at $32,000 can be between $24,500 and $29,500 (low price being rough value and high price being excellent condition value)…that’s on a 4-year old JAPANESE make. In my opinion, that’s extreme value retainment for a car that isn’t really considered a limited edition model (they are sold in limited quantities but are not limited to such low counts as to be considered a limited edition model). The Focus RS may retain value just as well or even better, but only because it would be an actual limited production car, which probably makes comparing resale an apples/oranges comparison.
Subaru’s aftermarket is HUGE…much larger than Ford’s Focus aftermarket. The Focus may have better modification potential due to it’s more modern engine, but it’s a bit difficult to compare modification potential objectively since the technology between the two engines are so different. I doubt the Focus RS aftermarket will top Subaru’s, since the car will be sold in limited numbers.
There’s no doubt the Focus will be the better car, but that’ doesn’t mean the STI will become irrelevant. Ford will have to prove it’s better…on racing circuits and in video and e-zine reviews…not just on paper. And, again, there’s a drastic difference between the two cars. The Focus RS would better compare to the Mercedes CLA-45 AMG (which is a front-biased AWD car with 350-HP from a turbocharged inline-four — it has much more in common with the Ford Focus RS than a Subaru WRX STI).
Check this out! Now, this isn’t the very first Boxer-powered motorcycle…BMW has a crap-ton of them. Honda’s Goldwings have always used the horizontally-opposed engine configuration, as well. I like this one, though, because both wheels are powered. As well, that black engine looks sinister! I’m not sure if the coloring has been photoshopped to represent WRX/STI rally colors (rally blue with gold wheels…Subaru trademark).
This IS powered by a WRX engine, but it’s also just an electronic sketch. Be sure to visit that link, because it has a ton of pictures of the bike and engine…it also has a quick article on how the bike was designed.
I posted about the upcoming Ford Focus RS a fewtimes already, but R&T apparently analyzed some video footage of a Ford Focus RS on the track and determined that the car is indeed AWD. I’m not sure I believe it. Video analysis of handling characteristics might not be enough.
I posted awhile back that Porsche might be going mainstream with turbocharged flat-four engines. Boxer engines aren’t the most efficient when it comes to making power, but they do offer outstanding balance (center of gravity, which will enhance handling).
