Electric turbo for next Subaru WRX?
A ground-breaking new electrically-powered turbocharger could feature on the next edition of Subaru's hero performance car, the WRX, when it finally arrives towards the end of next year.
Respected US website motortrend.com says Subaru took out a patent on an electrically-operated turbo in 2007. An unnamed source has told the website that Subaru's parent company, Fuji Heavy Industries, is working to trap heat energy from exhaust gases, generating electricity to power the turbo.
It is believed this would eradicate complicated piping traditionally associated with turbocharging and create power more efficiently with less turbo lag.
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Subaru Australia spokesman David Rowley says it is the latest of many rumours swirling around the company's much-anticipated hero cars, the WRX and WRX STi.
"They haven't even had any concept cars out there that relate to WRX or STi, there was nothing at Tokyo last year, so I think until we see something along those lines they're not going to be revealing any other details – to us or you," he says.
Other recent speculation has named a turbocharged 1.6-litre unit as the most likely engine size, while rumours also suggest the WRX range – based on the Impreza four-door sedan and five-door hatch launched earlier this year – will be offered as a two-door coupe.
Subaru moved to separate the WRX pair from the Impreza range in the previous generation by removing "Impreza" from the WRX's model name, and will continue the separation both in terms of design and engineering, Rowley says.
"Our understanding is that [WRX] will be completely distinctive from the current Impreza, it will look considerably different," he says.
"I think it's fair to say they'll be looking at a whole raft of technical refinements on WRX because by the time we see it, it will be some years old in terms of the maturity of Impreza so inevitably there will be some very significant technical changes and innovations."
One common factor between the two may be a continuously variable transmission, which has already been launched across the Impreza range and appears likely to be retained for the WRX range.
Last year Subaru Australia managing director Nick Senior told Drive that the WRX pair could be offered with a CVT.
"By far the majority of buyers of those two cars choose the six-speed manual, and I don't expect that to change over time," he said in October.
"The current WRX is manual-only whereas the [WRX-based] STi has a five-speed auto option and so I'd expect that one of those two cars could get an auto and quite possibly it'll be the CVT."
Can't see that working at all, just use nitrous, cheaper/easier/lighter/simpler.
