Subaru’s performance-oriented Levorg STI Sport estate debuts in prototype form.
The performanceoriented estate debuted in prototype form at the Tokyo Auto Salon this week with a focus on a new damper system for the brand. By Richard Leu
How different is it from the regular model?
At the Tokyo Motor Show late last year, Subaru debuted the all-new Levorg. Despite being labelled as a prototype, it was virtually the real article for the showroom confirmed for market launch at the end of this year.
At the 2020 Tokyo Auto Salon this week, the Japanese car maker premiered another prototype of the Levorg. This time it’s called STI Sport, a supposedly performance-oriented version.
In spite of that, there’s hardly anything distinguishing the STI Sport from the regular model, if you don’t count the badge. Even the design of the front and rear bumpers is the same.
No pictures of the interior have been revealed, though it might be safe to assume that the STI Sport will be getting racier trim, like more body-hugging seats.
What’s it like technically, the STI Sport? The only thing Subaru has mentioned is that the Levorg STI Sport is the brand’s first model to get electronically controlled dampers. Along with other parameters like the engine, transmission, all-wheel-drive system and steering, the driver can adjust the driving experience accordingly.
Subaru hasn’t said anything about the engine in the STI Sport. In Tokyo last year, the standard Levorg was being promoted with a new 1.8-litre petrol-turbo engine, upsized from the 1.6-litre used in the predecessor.
The first-generation Levorg has a 2.0-litre petrol-turbo producing around 300hp in Japan, which could easily form the basis for the STI Sport in second-gen form.
But whether the STI Sport will merely be a Levorg with a retuned suspension remains to be seen.
The regular Levorg is currently sold at just under 2 million baht, making it the cheapest estate available in the Thai car market.