The late cancellation (yet again) of the ill-fated New York International Auto Show is a blow to anyone in the Eastern U.S. hoping to get up close and personal with the latest cars destined for American showrooms.
But it’s also created a major headache for Subaru, which planned to use the show as a springboard to launch two important vehicles, the 2022 WRX sedan and 2022 Forester Wilderness, on August 19.
Subaru has already started its teaser campaign for both cars, showing us a video of a WRX tearing through a dry lake, and the side of a jacked up car sporting the Wilderness badge already seen on the Outback, and showing enough carryover details for us to work out it was Forester-based.
But now the launch of both cars is on hold and Subaru claims it hasn’t finalised when we’ll see them.
Related: Four Times Subaru Pulled A Bait-And-Switch With Its Impreza And WRX Concepts
“We have not confirmed when information about WRX or the next Wilderness model will be released due to the cancellation of NYIAS,” a Subaru spokesperson told Carscoops.
The WRX reveal was already generating some serious interest and not simply because it represented the return of a much loved badge. Though Subaru shot and edited its teaser video to make it difficult to see the car clearly, it appears to be wearing the kind of chunky black cladding you’d normally associate with crossover.
And a brief glimpse of the rev counter with a substantially lower rev limit than last year’s car appeared to tally with reports that the 2022 car will switch to the FA24 2.4-liter engine from the Ascent and Outback.
Subaru still hasn’t officially confirmed the identity of the second car due for launch, only that it is a Wilderness variant. But EPA data uncovered by Motor Trend revealed that it is a Forester Wilderness, and that its Wilderness-specific taller rider height and dirt-friendly tires are responsible for a 3 mpg fuel consumption penalty.