Subaru Shows Off a Zoomy WRX Concept

Subaru of America Inc. hints at a more flowing look for its future models in the WRX concept it unveiled earlier today at the New York auto show.

The sedan has a coupelike roofline and is noticeably lower, wider and more menacing in appearance than Subaru's current Impreza-based hot-rod WRX. Subaru offers few details about the car's inner workings except to say it has all-wheel drive and a turbocharged engine.

The concept sports such racy exterior cues as a bulging hood with air scoop, a spoiler built into the deck lid and an elaborate diffuser below the rear bumper. Two sets of dual exhaust pipes flank the diffuser.

The front end is dominated by a large hexagonal grille and cat's-eye headlamps. In back, the center-mounted brake lamp is built into the car's roof-mounted shark fin antenna.

The WRX is fitted with a carbon fiber roof, an increasingly popular way to enhance the handling of a high-performance vehicle by lowering its center of gravity.

The concept is shod with 245/40 Z-rated Dunlop tires on 20-inch BBS rims. The car's blue pearl paint job is accented with fluorescent yellow on the brake calipers, front WRX badging and exhaust tips.

The WRX concept measures 178 inches long, 74 inches wide and 55 inches tall. That makes it about 2 inches shorter, more than 5 inches wider and nearly 3 inches lower than the current model.