Listen To The 2019 Subaru Sti S209's Burbling Exhaust

Listen to the 2019 Subaru STI S209's burbling exhaust

The 2019 Subaru STI S209 is a celebration of everything that made the STI and Impreza WRX STI line so popular with car enthusiasts. It has extreme body work, a heavily boosted flat-four that slams you in your seat, performance gizmos such as a center differential controller and an intercooler sprayer, as well as impressive handling and grip, in part due to its all-wheel drive. And of course, it has that signature boxer engine rumble, which has been accentuated with this model's exhaust system.

We wanted to share that sound so captured some footage of the car on start-up, gentle acceleration, full throttle acceleration, and some free-revving, in that order. It's a mellow sound, one that occasionally sounds like a motorcycle, but a bit smoother. And while it's noticeable at lower speeds, it's tuned such that it's extremely quiet at cruising speeds, and doesn't become massively louder at full throttle. In fact, you'll notice that the road noise and the wind rushing out of the exhaust ends up overwhelming the rumble at some points. It's something that both Senior Producer Chris McGraw and I noticed in our drives of the super Subaru. If it seems like it's too quiet, we're sure the aftermarket can solve the volume issue for you.

2019 Subaru Sti S209 Drivers' Notes | Photos, Specs, Impressions

2019 Subaru STI S209 Drivers' Notes | Photos, specs, impressions

The 2019 Subaru STI S209 is peak Subaru for America. It's the most powerful and most expensive vehicle with the Subaru badge on it, and there will only ever be 209 of them sold. It's put together in STI's small shop in Kiryu, Japan, where workers put together approximately 2-3 cars per day. 

Subaru's long-used 2.5-liter EJ25 turbocharged flat-four is back for another round, but it's been modified to make more power than a regular WRX STI. The redesigned intake, larger HKS turbocharger and better-flowing exhaust system ramp output up to 341 horsepower and 330 pound-feet of torque, gains of 31 and 40 respectively over a regular STI. It can hit 60 mph in 4.9 seconds and tops out at 162 mph. A huge number of changes were made to the suspension, steering, aero and brakes to make the S209 drive better and produce quicker lap times on track.

Subaru Sponsors Nbc 'parks And Rec' Reunion To Benefit Charity

Subaru sponsors NBC 'Parks and Rec' reunion to benefit charity

On April 23, NBC Universal announced the return of modern comedy classic "Parks and Recreation" for a special one-time reunion to help raise money for the Feeding America COVID-19 Response Fund. Joining the good-spirited event, Subaru announced this week it would help sponsor the special by matching donations up to $150,000. The all-new show will air Thursday, April 30, at 8:30 p.m. ET, and donations can be made through FeedingAmerica.org.

For 30 minutes, fans of Leslie Knope and her trusty crew of buddies will have the chance to temporarily escape the current stressful times caused by the coronavirus and COVID-19 pandemic. The show was filmed from the actors' houses and will adopt a theme set by current times. "Leslie Knope is determined to stay connected to her friends in a time of social distancing," an NBC press release says.

2019 Subaru Forester Long-term Update | Can We Fool Facial Recognition?

2019 Subaru Forester long-term update | Can we fool facial recognition?

Subaru's DriverFocus system in our 2019 Subaru Forester long-term tester serves multiple purposes, but its facial recognition abilities are especially intriguing. If your face is registered in the car's system, the infrared camera will recognize you and adjust your seat and mirrors to the position initially chosen during the setup process. It'll store up to five faces, automatically adjusting everything to the person's face it sees.

The camera can recognize you in the dark or with glasses on, according to Subaru. It looks for the points on a person's face, but doesn't remember a specific person. This gave us an idea for a test. Can we trick it by using a photo of somebody else's face? Check out the video above to see what happened.

This Porsche Spyder Features A Subaru Boxer And A Literal Box Of Money

This Porsche Spyder features a Subaru boxer and a literal box of money

About a year ago, Hoonigan expanded its suite of multimedia offerings with the launch of Hoonigan Autofocus. The channel was formed out of a partnership with the wizard of automotive photography Larry Chen and focuses photography's relationship with the cars the cameras are pointed at. Each video features a new ride, and the most recent episode welcomes a custom-built Porsche Spyder with a boxer engine from Japan.

Purists will be thrown into a fit when examining this 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder recreation that is self-classified as "Outlawd Couture." It comes from Los Angeles-based automotive artist and car builder S Klub, who formerly built an outlaw Mercedes-Benz SL300 Gullwing. This build, along with a second 550 Spyder that had only one seat, first appeared at SEMA in 2019 and has since gone up for sale.

Watch The 2019 Subaru Sti S209 Intercooler Sprayer Work

Watch the 2019 Subaru STI S209 intercooler sprayer work

The 2019 Subaru STI S209 gets a lot of features that distinguish it from your average WRX STI including wide body work, a giant wing, additional chassis braces and an extra 31 horsepower. It also brings back a performance gizmo that hasn't been featured in a U.S. market Subaru since 2007: the intercooler sprayer. As the name implies, it sprays cool water onto the air-to-air intercooler when pressing a button. In the case of the S209, that button is one of the paddles on the back of the steering wheel. That triggers the water nozzles hidden in the hood scoop to spray water. You can see what happens in the video below. Note that when the car is in motion, air would carry the spray farther back covering more of the intercooler.

Subaru Recalls Four 2019 Models Due To Faulty Fuel Pump

Subaru recalls four 2019 models due to faulty fuel pump

Subaru has issued a safety recall for select examples of the 2019 Outback wagon, Ascent SUV, Legacy sedan, and Impreza hatchback. These vehicles might have a fuel pump that could stop working and cause the engine to stall. 

Between June 18, 2018, and February 25, 2019, Subaru believes it installed fuel pumps that could have a defect. According to filed recall documents, these vehicles might have low-pressure fuel pumps with "an impeller that was manufactured with a lower density." Should that impeller be exposed to solvent drying for longer periods of time, it could crack. Subaru says cracks could lead to "excessive fuel absorption, resulting in impeller deformation." 

Subaru Will Name Electric Crossover Evoltis

Subaru will name electric crossover Evoltis

Two years ago, Subaru Japan applied to trademark the name "Evoltis" in the U.S. At the time, it was thought the name would accompany the brand's new plug-in hybrid or some component of the hybrid system. Instead, the PHEV we got returned the Crosstrek Hybrid name to active use, after Subaru retired the first non-plug-in Crosstrek Hybrid in 2016. Whither the Evoltis, then? According to CarBuzz, citing "reports from Japan," Subaru will apply the moniker to a coming battery-electric crossover it is developing with Toyota. The automaker previewed the concept version of the crossover in January of this year during a technical meeting in Japan, built atop a flexible platform to accommodate multiple production vehicles from both brands.

Subaru's known for exciting concepts that get stripped to comparative blandness for production. Perhaps tired of the ensuing vitriol, reports say Subaru's inverting the process this time, the production model promising to be more radical than the concept. That won't be difficult, seeing the concept looked like an appliance from a low-budget sci-fi movie, and if not for the Pleiades badge on the front fascia most enthusiasts probably would have thought the concept was a Toyota. Underneath the eventual sheetmetal, rumors figure electric motors turning both axles will combine to produce about 280 horsepower, supplied by a battery stout enough for a range of more than 300 miles — note, that could be a Japanese-cycle figure for range.

Junkyard Gem: 1994 Subaru Legacy Ls 4wd Sedan

Junkyard Gem: 1994 Subaru Legacy LS 4WD Sedan

I live in Denver, where Subarus rule the roads, and that means that all my local car graveyards are packed with worn-out vehicles displaying the Pleiades logo on their battered grilles. These days, most of those discarded Subarus will be second- and third-generation Legacies of the 1995-2005 period, mostly Outback wagons, so I'll be making an effort to document some of the 1990-1994 first-gen cars before they become junkyard rarities. Here's an optioned-up 1994 Legacy sedan, looking very outdoorsy in a yard located near the Dakota Hogback south of Denver.

2020 Subaru Outback Suspension | How It Works, Ground Clearance

2020 Subaru Outback Suspension | How it works, ground clearance

The 2020 Subaru Outback is a completely redesigned car. It has a lot to offer in terms of new convenience features, and the driving experience is much improved. A good deal of that comes from chassis improvements, and indeed a lot of work went into making the body shell and suspension subframes more rigid so the suspension attachment points could be more robust and stable.

Don't let all of that rigidity talk make you think the ride itself is stiff. It isn't. Any suspension tuning engineer will tell you that a stable platform is necessary even if a smooth ride is the goal. Rigid attachment points make it easier to control ride motions and road imperfections within those components designed for that very job – the springs, dampers and suspension bushings.

1993 Subaru Sambar Dias Up For Auction On Bring A Trailer

1993 Subaru Sambar Dias up for auction on Bring a Trailer

The news is really depressing. You're stuck at home, hopefully working but possibly not. The kids home from school just ... won't ... calm ... down. 

We need something to make us smile, so allow me to present a tiny morsel of happiness that is this 1993 Subaru Sambar Dias van currently up for auction on Bring a Trailer. One might call this a mini van if a minivan wasn't already a thing (and in no way mini any more), but the actual term is a "Kei-class van," referring the Japanese Kei class of vehicles that are teeny-tiny and capped at an engine displacement of 660cc.

Subaru Brz Final Edition To Be Sold In Germany

Subaru BRZ Final Edition to be sold in Germany

Both the Subaru BRZ and its Toyota 86 Sibling have been confirmed to have an impending second generation (well, confirmed before the pandemic), which means it's about time to start warmly saying goodbye to the current models. They deserve it, because although many will remember the sports cars for their lack of power, they should be remembered as affordable, sharp-looking, flickable sports cars with rear-wheel drive, manual transmissions, and an extremely fun chassis. As first reported by Motor1, Subaru Germany is sending the BRZ off with a limited-run Final Edition.

To start, no, the Final Edition does not have any powertrain upgrades. In Germany, the 2.0-liter remains the same at 197 horsepower and 151 lb-ft of torque. A six-speed manual is the base transmission setup, while a six-speed automatic transmission will cost an extra $1,850. 

2019 Subaru Forester Long-term Update | Road Trip Down South

2019 Subaru Forester Long-Term Update | Road trip down south

Our 2019 Subaru Forester long-term tester is rounding second base in its stay at Autoblog's Michigan HQ, yet the blue-painted, gold-wheeled crossover hadn't left the Midwest throughout its first six months here, so I sought to change that by taking it down to New Orleans. The goal: Determine if the Forester is a good road trip car. Of course, my girlfriend and I also wanted to go to Mardi Gras, but either way, we were in for some long days of driving.

There are a few umbrella categories a vehicle should excel in to make a vacation and road trip better for all involved. For me, those include comfort, utility and its driver assistance systems.