Feeling disappointed that the new Subaru WRX TR didn’t have any more power than the stock WRX and is missing the STI-style wing seen on Australian versions? Then here’s something that might just lift your mood. It’s called the Subaru Sport Mobility Concept, and looks like it could be hinting at an electric successor to the BRZ.
Though the automaker has released almost no details about the concept it does confirm that the car is a pure EV. And the single, shadowy teaser image shows a sporty-looking coupe with a low roofline, plunging hood and slim LED lights arranged across the nose. We can also see an illuminated Subaru badge on the hood, and just about make out that the wheelarch openings are squared, rather than round.
Though we’ve mentioned the BRZ already, the combination of the slim, angular nose and squared arches makes us think Subaru is riffing on the wedgy XT coupe from the 1980s, a car probably best known these days for its bizarre asymmetric steering wheel.
Related: 2024 Subaru WRX TR Debuts With Tuned Chassis But Stock 271 HP Motor And No Wing
Subaru is giving no concrete technical details away at this stage beyond confirming that the concept is an EV, saying only that the car “evokes the evolution of the Subaru Sport values.” The automaker’s EV portfolio isn’t as advanced as those of some rivals, and the Solterra SUV hasn’t had the easiest start due to recalls and criticism over its electric range. But Subaru is clearly trying to prime us for its next generation of EVs, though whether an electric sports car like this will ever make production is debatable.
The biennial Tokyo extraveganza does have a long history of wild concept car debuts, after all. Unlike its Geneva rival, the Tokyo Motor Show hasn’t relocated to Dubai for 2023, but it does have a new name. Starting this year it goes by Japan Mobility Show to better reflect how transport is changing, and how automakers are changing to keep pace. Not that Subaru will be showing anything crazy like a car-size drone at this year’s event. Besides the EV concept, it’s big news is the new Levorg Layback crossover.
