In late May, Toyota held a joint conference with Subaru and Mazda about channeling efforts into a new family of cleaner combustion engines. Toyota is developing more compact four-cylinder powertrains, Subaru is tweaking the boxer while Mazda is pursuing the range-extending rotary engine. A new and rather unexpected video highlights the increasingly stronger connection among two of these Japanese brands.
Published by the official Toyota Times magazine, the three-hour video is all about the exhaust note of a Subaru engine. Specifically, it’s a turbocharged 1.8-liter boxer that goes into the Levorg Layback. What’s that you ask? It’s essentially a jacked-up version of the Levorg. If that name doesn’t ring a bell either, it’s an Impreza wagon sold in certain markets.
Mind you, it’s not a completely stock Layback since it has an upgraded exhaust from STI. Shot in ASMR style, the 180-minute video highlights the benefits of having the optional muffler from Subaru Tecnica International. In the Toyota Times magazine, a Subaru engineer specialized in air intake systems complains about how strict regulations are muting modern engines. Nobuyoshi Takashima is quoted saying: “Today’s strict regulations force us to make factory models as quiet as possible.”
Thankfully, STI can restore some of the boxer engine’s lost decibels, even if it’s for just a lifted wagon rather than an actual STI car. That 1.8-liter boxer engine only makes 174 hp channeled to an all-wheel-drive system through a CVT. Depending on the market, the regular Levorg can be had with as much as 271 hp. There’s even a Levorg STI Sport in Japan with the more potent and larger 2.4-liter gas engine from the WRX.
Aside from the GR86/BRZ collab and this new engine partnership, lest we forget that Toyota has a 20.42% share in Subaru. The world’s biggest car manufacturer also has a 5.05% share in the other member of the newly announced engine alliance, Mazda.
Another Japanese trio is brewing as Mitsubishi recently joined the Honda-Nissan alliance that was announced back in March.