Ah, Subaru, the master of the enigmatic press release. A shadowy image, a few breezy half-details and a vague promise of more to come. Frankly, given the phonebooks of information other car makers casually toss our way, the Subaru version is often better...
This time the (non) news is about a range-topping version of the new Impreza-but-we're-not-really-calling-it-Impreza-except-sometimes. Set to be called the WRX S4 (wonder if Audi, or even Lancia have signed off on that?) the new hottest Impreza may well have extra power over and above the recently-launched WRX STI. It may also be only coloured mauve and come with standard Hippo-skin seats for all we know. Isn't speculation wonderful?
All Subaru is saying for now is that it will have something called a 'Blue Boxer' engine (improved CO2 figures perhaps? Or just Euro VI compliance?) and that the S4 stands for "Sports performance", "Safety performance", "Smart driving" and "Sophisticated feel". Read into that what you will. Subaru has set up a dedicated website for the new car, which currently features a clock, ticking down (Jack Bauer-stylee) the 30 remaining days until we get more info. You can find it here but it helps if you speak or read Japanese: http://www.subaru.jp/wrxs4/sp/
Anything else?
Away from such turbocharged, range-topping evasiveness, Subaru has also launched a new, standard Impreza in Ireland. Using a 1.6-litre Boxer petrol engine (flat-four to you and I) it ducks into Band B for emissions when fitted with a CVT automatic gearbox, comes with four-wheel drive as standard and costs €24,995 for either manual or automatic versions.