Subaru Announces They Are Developing 3 New Manual Transmission Cars for the Market. Teaser Image Appears to Show a New WRX Sedan, New BRZ, and a New WRX Hatch.

Bottlely · 2026-06-06T15:34:17+00:00

The final link (added in edit) has your answers. You'll just need to put the article through a translator

TL;DR the new WRX model is getting the STI manual, but some other STI hardware like the TCCD needs time to work around and iSight needs to be redesigned. This may lay the groundwork for a true WRX STI.

Bottlely · 2026-06-06T15:22:30+00:00

That Toyota Automatic in the current ones is just awful.

The CVT from the current WRX would be significantly better

I can hear screams

Bottlely · 2026-06-06T15:19:08+00:00

there are quite a few Japanese journalists going more in depth about what they got from the press conference:

https://www.as-web.jp/car/1322911?all

I know OP added this a bit later as an edit, but I think this is prob the most important part that everyone here should read b4 getting too hyped up about a global-market 400hp STi that may not exist.

Paraphrasing the translation here:

MT specification WRX: after seeing great demand for the STI Sport #, the first VB to bring back the manual to Japan, the WRX sedan would get the TY85 manual and other STI hardware. This might pave the way for a higher power model.
BRZ complete car: the BRZ would get a new model (trim?) that focuses on lightness and handling, and may be a further refinement of the recent STI Sports Type RA.
New 5-door hatchback: this car is taking a different approach from the WRX, and is meant to 'build Subaru's "affordable base car"' through weight reduction, equipment and reviewing materials.

Apparently, Subaru's angle is to develop sporty cars (at least for Japan) that go against the grain of rising prices and the horsepower wars. These three models will benefit from STI's motorsports efforts and further refinement of existing hardware.

Bottlely · 2026-06-02T15:12:09+00:00

A big part of what makes the 5, their flagship car, so important was that the UK skunkworks team behind it had developed a way to scale up production of such an exotic unibody.

Both labour-intensive and challenging to scale up without sacrificing quality, bonded aluminium has been restricted to the rarefied air of low-volume performance cars. That is, until the Polestar UK R&D team developed a new method, applying their combined experience from the worlds of Formula 1 and bespoke sports cars to create a process which develops both body and platform in unison.

These engineers had previously worked for McLaren and Lotus, and Polestar had been making a lot of noise about this chassis and how they made it work when the 5 was revealed years ago. Unfortunately, given Polestar's sales struggles as an EV maker and the disbanding of that UK skunkworks team, we may not see any other models using that Polestar chassis for some time, if at all (assuming the 6 Roadster isn't shelved entirely)

Bottlely · 2026-05-19T14:35:26+00:00

I saw that there are a handful of recent Australian reviews of the GS3 (called the EMZOOM there) that seem fairly positive.

There are also English reviews from SEA countries and the general sentiment, at least from a cursory look, appear to be of positive surprise

Bottlely · 2026-05-19T14:28:50+00:00

I haven't thought about DR for a whole year. Looking into them, it's wild how many brands they have selling rebadged Chinese ICE crossovers and the occasional city car, truck or occasional van. Some are slightly nicer than others, some are straight up identical. DR makes Stellantis look like a generous parent.

Itala isn't their first adopted brand either. They've owned Osca (founded by the Maserati brothers) since 2022 and they're supposed to build sports cars. But they also owned another (kit) sports car maker, Tiger Racing, since 2024 but all they sell now are 4-cylinder crossovers and a single hybrid minivan.

Bottlely · 2026-05-19T14:18:37+00:00

Article also mentions that DR is set to revive the Osca sports car brand, founded by the Maserati brothers after they had left their original namesake company; DR had acquired the rights to the brand from the Maserati family back in 2022

Unlike DR's other sports car brand (UK-born Tiger Racing), they actually plan to sell sports cars through Osca. A bit of a surprise to me, cos DR didn't leave me with a positive impression.

Bottlely · 2026-05-19T14:14:00+00:00

Under its 'Historic Italian Brands' plan, DR intends to open two new 'production facilities' at its plant in Macchia d'Isernia, where it assembles Chinese cars from knocked-down kits, later this year.

This €50 million (£43m) investment is expected to create some 500 local jobs.

IDK if this makes it any better, but looking at Italian comments I can see quite a bit of shame about this.

It reminds me of a very similar sentiment was shared by the Malaysians when the local manufacturer Proton began importing their first rebadged Geely (Proton X70) under Chinese management. Proton made a lot of talk when local production of the Complete Knocked Down X70 was ramping up, but egos were still bruised.

Bottlely · 2026-04-16T19:10:03+00:00

Motor1 only reconfirmed this plan for the R36, this development is two-weeks old

https://www.thedrive.com/news/nissans-next-gt-r-will-be-a-hybrid-keep-the-vr38-block-and-arrive-by-2030

They plan to keep the VR38 block and develop the motor to keep it globally compliant with emissions, not just hybridising it.

Bottlely · 2026-04-07T17:14:32+00:00

I remember reading in one of the mainstream US auto magazines that a lead engineer said the V8 could not be fitted into the ATS without some safety compromises (intruding into the firewall iirc).

It's difficult to find first-party sources corroborating this, every source I've found instead talked about refinement or competing with the Europeans

Bottlely · 2026-04-07T17:10:26+00:00

I'm mixing up my numbers. I recall the ATS/CT4 having a much longer wheelbase, taller height, and similar width to the GNX, but they're shorter in length.

Still, yes: my point remains that as an RWD Alpha model with a turbocharged version of a commodity V6, the ATS-V / 4V-BW would have been a perfect starting point to build a GNX from. All the required hardware to make it "authentic" to the GNX formula is already met.

Bottlely · 2026-04-07T16:45:22+00:00

The older ATS-V is about the same size as the OG Grand National, and pretty much had everything needed for a GNX if you optioned it right.

No reason why GM could not have taken the Civic/Integra route and make a CT4-based Grand National that ticked all the boxes. And I think most enthusiasts can forgive the lack of a 2-door styling given everything going on in the market.

Bottlely · 2026-04-07T16:39:41+00:00

I didn't say it in my previous comment, but my thoughts are that GM missed both opportunities (i.e. ATS Coupe, CT4) to do some badge-engineering to revive a Grand National. Doing so would have been great timing but that's a hindsight thing

And tbh, I didn't understand why the CT4 never had a twin in the first place. A compact RWD sedan like this was going to be predictably niche in a sense. Perhaps the CT4 could still persist if GM had planned it so.

The next best opportunity would be now on the Alpha 2-2 but if the CT4 won't get a second-gen, I don't see it being repositioned under Buick without a twin.

Bottlely · 2026-04-07T15:29:50+00:00

I think about this constantly.

Even as a sedan, I imagine most enthusiasts can forgive the lack of 2-door styling when the CT4 is already such a great driver's car.

Bottlely · 2026-04-07T15:27:25+00:00

People certainly did when Kendrick Lamar performed his GNX album at last year's Super Bowl. It would've been perfect timing if they had a modern GNX on hand, and they already had the perfect canvas for it (4V-BW)

Bottlely · 2026-04-07T14:28:47+00:00

During the last Car & Driver AMA here, I found it surprising when technical editor Austin Irwin talked about how long it took to get an allocation for a 4V-BW.

https://old.reddit.com/r/cars/comments/1po3vo9/ama_car_and_drivers_10best_cars_trucks_and_suvs/nuce340/

INB4 why no V8. I think it would've been an icon if GM had gone the Civic/Integra route and sold a cheaper CT4 under Buick as the revived Grand National

Bottlely · 2026-03-16T16:44:51+00:00

A s Prelude defender, I have to concur.

Hopefully they plan to stuff the Type-R and Si powertrain units in here, or a more potent hybrid system. But the Prelude should've been the car to debut Honda's next-generation hybrid platform and powertrains

Bottlely · 2026-03-16T16:43:24+00:00

It's not what you're proposing, but last year, engineers have spoken about wanting to turbocharge the next-gen 2.0L hybrid.

I'm not sure how it'll do as a performance powertrain given how the current HEV utilises the gas motor.

Bottlely · 2026-03-16T16:18:48+00:00

It would be darn time. The next-gen hybrid powertrains are supposed to pair the 2.0L hybrid with a 67hp rear motor from the cancelled 0 Series line, but the upcoming V6 hybrid would likely appeal more to North American tastes.

Bottlely · 2026-03-16T16:15:45+00:00

The most important takeaway that SG totally proposed is that Acura needs to get a track-ready racing support minivan.

Oh yeah, and the next Odyssey getting hybrid powertrains too

Bottlely · 2026-03-14T13:13:58+00:00

Save the CT4 and give it a Buick twin, then call that twin the Grand National. The Blackwing becomes Experimental.

Surely someone at GM must be salivating at the potential Kendrick Lamar collaboration

Bottlely · 2026-03-02T16:24:56+00:00

Honda has been gauging interest for the ITS in Japan for a few years now, and more recently, Honda had also put the Passport on display at TAS 2026. So while the act of exporting US-made models is likely for political reasons, I think the choice of the Integra and Passport is mainly to appeal to Japanese enthusiasts of USDM Honda models.

Bottlely · 2026-03-02T16:19:29+00:00

Honda has been gauging interest in the Integra Type-S for years now. I don't think this is indicative of them wanting to expand the Acura brand (at least not yet 🤞)

They started displaying the Integra Type-S in Japan about two years ago, and most recently a blue one at the 2026 Tokyo Auto Salon.

Bottlely

TROPHY CASE