Honda Elysion had 300 horsepower since 2004, that's 10 years ago.

http://d2i6c6y1xqgf7t.cloudfront.net..._ELYSION04.jpg
http://d2i6c6y1xqgf7t.cloudfront.net..._ELYSION11.jpg
http://d2i6c6y1xqgf7t.cloudfront.net..._ELYSION12.jpg

anyways 300hp is a lot for a minivan or family sedan.

Porsche 911(930) Turbo had 3.0L flat-6 Turbo, 260hp.
(later increased to 3.3L 300hp)

http://www.rsiauto.fr/images/PORSCHE....3-(930)-5.jpg

First drive: 2015 Subaru WRX STI | Driving

Latest WRX STI eschews its rally car roots for racetrack bona fides, but make sure you're in the driver's seat



Here’s everything bad you need to know about the STI version of Subaru‘s new 2015 WRX: You really don’t want to be in the passenger seat.

Oh, from behind the steering wheel, the latest STI will, as marketers do so like to proclaim, “surprise and delight.” But, if you’re riding shotgun, you’re sure-as-shootin’ gonna get tossed about. Fillings will be loosened, sphincters will be tightened and, if you’re particularly queasy, lunches tossed. Think of it as a roller coaster you didn’t volunteer for, a Perfect Storm like tossing on the high or the worst turbulence you ever suffered in a 747. Passengers, probably not the prime purchaser of the STI and its serious-as-a-heart-attack suspension, will almost assuredly find the 2015 STI a performance upgrade too far and offer to hitch a ride with the next bus that comes along. Or, if you’re on a particularly bumpy stretch of California tarmac, get out and walk.

If you’re behind the wheel, though, you’re screaming inside your helmet (if you’re using the STI in its preferred environment, the racetrack) and/or grinning like an idiot. You’ll be waxing lyrical to the poor schmo in the passenger seat about razor sharp steering, grip that rivals Krazy Glue and brakes that make anchor metaphors seem trite. The WRX legend is full of storied cars and legendary rides, but this new STI so completely eclipses previous versions — especially its surprisingly mediocre immediate predecessor — that the legend is about to enter a new chapter, one in which M3s and S4s are drawn into direct comparison.

For 2015, the WRX — or the STI version, at least — eschews its previous rally car roots for more racetrack directed bona fides. Oh, given the right gravel backroad and its Driver Controlled Center Differential managed 41-to-59 rearward torque bias will hang out the rear end nicely. But the soft-ish suspension compliance required for challenging hill and dale has given way to F1-like stiffness, an almost complete lack of body roll and 911-challenging limpet-like grip. Pikes Peak is out, the Nurburgring is in and don’t spare the horses, Nellie, Subaru is gunning for Porsche and BMW.

The 2015 STI’s spec guide reads like a how-to guide for hot-rod production cars for SCCA racing. In increasing sway bar diameter from 21 millimetres to 24-mm, for instance, Subaru has increased torsion bar stiffness by 125 percent. The shocks themselves are 22 percent stiffer and the steering ratio reduced from an already-sporty 15.0:1 to a racetrack-ready 13.0:1. Even the bushings that hold the gearbox to the chassis, usually a small detail in even the sportiest of street cars, have been stiffened by 400 percent. High-strength steel is now used throughout the WRX’s framework. Overall, Subaru claims the chassis has been strengthened by 30 percent in bending and the suspension’s resistance to roll by 24 percent. Suffice it to say that the STI feels “planted.”

The result is a feeling of oneness seldom found behind the steering wheel of cars (especially at this price of $37,999), even sports cars. Connectivity is the industry’s buzzword right now, sprinkled liberally through marketing bumf as the auto industry struggles to appeal to the young and high-tech. But in a car — especially a sporting automobile — there’s a far more important connection, one that connects man and machine in a much more visceral manner. It’s the feeling that comes back through the steering wheel telling you that, no matter how tight that decreasing radius hairpin, the STI’s razor-sharp steering will get you to the apex.

It’s believing that, no matter how hard you toss the bright blue little Sube in Laguna Seca’s “gravity cavity” Turn Six, all that incredible traction (0.98g’s of lateral grip compared with the 2014′s 0.92) will see you rocketing out the other end. And, as you’ll read in the accompanying description of a lap of the famed California racetrack in the STI, it’s the incredible stability of being able to turn, brake and downshift going over Laguna’s diabolically-fast Turn 1 that makes an occasionally punishing ride worth every bit of its lumbar-challenging ride.

As much as the new STI is now a certifiable track weapon (and, know this, if you’re not planning on taking the Subie to the track, you’re probably better off in the less frenetic, everyday WRX), certain civilities have been improved. For one thing, the engine, largely unchanged (it’s still rated at 305 horses and 290 pound-feet of torque), seems smoother in the latest model’s enhanced framework. The thrumming, usually part and parcel of Subaru’s 2.5-litre horizontally-opposed four-cylinder, is much reduced. Oh, the breathed-on Boxer motor’s off-beat, staccato exhaust note is still there but much of rest of the engine’s unpleasant noise, vibration and harshness is gone. Dare I say it, the new Subie almost feels sophisticated.

Ditto for the 2015′s interior décor, which lets be honest here, was an area in which the previous generation STI seriously let down the side. New, soft-touch materials, better quality seats and an interior that would not be completely out-of-place in a BMW have really moved the STI up a notch. An LCD screen, which on most cars would sport the navigation display, has a huge digital boost gauge built in so that you can quantify the fun you’re having. The audio system, a 440-watt Harman/Kardon affair with nine speakers, can be heard over the din of the motor. And, what’s this? A gauge set that doesn’t look like it was purloined from a mid-’80s Dodge Omni? Will the miracles never cease?

The one area where the new WRX still requires updating, however, is the transmission, the WRX still only offering a six-speed manual gearbox. Traditionalists will, of course, wax lyrical about the whole man/machine interface thing, deriding those looking for more modern gear-selection mechanisms as either effeminate or not sufficiently dedicated to sports car purity.

It doesn’t change the fact that the STI would be better served with a slick-shifting, paddle-operated dual-clutch manumatic. More importantly, it deserves it. The 2015 STI is one of the most willing of partners in four-wheeled crime, its handling and speed almost mandating that it should have the very best of sports car technology. There is nothing else on the market this cheap that goes this fast with this much control. Just make sure you’re driving alone.

With all the negative feedback on the new STi's looks and power, I wonder if the following was considered:

For the past 15 years, every new design of the Impreza was initially met with incredible disdain, and over the years was followed by comments like, "...it just grew on me."

The approximate (Subaru seems to enjoy updating the Impreza every other week) power to weight ratios of the first through third generations of WRX STi have actually dropped - 0.25bhp/kg, 0.21bhp/kg, and 0.19bhp/kg (Damn, Wikipedia makes me look smart). A host of other improvements including suspension settings, gear ratios, and steering lock have kept each successive generation performing just as well, if not better than the one before.

While the 2015 model will have the same power as the current generation, speculations are that it will weigh less. Subaru must be keeping tight-lipped on its weight for a reason. Until its weight and performance numbers are disclosed, complain you what?

cant wait for more reviews on the 2015 STI. hoping they'll all be more or less the same with the above review.

2015 Subaru WRX STI Driven and Reviewed Video

2015 Subaru WRX STI Driven and Reviewed | Driving Sports TV

shoulda bought yours :(

The Rb was produced in the early 1990's and they had a HP restriction.
The Rb's can easy push 500hp on stock internals. Plus they run about 3k to 10k for the long block.

Vr's are design off of the 300zx engine, similar specs in stock form, but they cost north of 35k for a crate engine.

I'd take the Rb any day for the price, availibilty and the aftermarket support.

The Elysion was 279hp only, that was limited edition. The normal V6 version was 250hp

:heckno:

just go VQ, easier support, and you can find some pretty cheap ones in the right places, buddy of mine found a 2011 VQ with less than 10000Miles on it (thing still had hatch marks when he put a scope down in it) he got it for 550$ shipped....

You ever driven a car with a modified engine like that before? It's totally undriveable for daily use... hold the gas down and it's like nothing nothing nothing nothing noth... FUCKFUCKFUCK... nevermind the size of your left leg doubling your right one to work the clutch required to hold that power and being impossible to drive smoothly due to the type of clutch material.

Also, new engines have to make power AND meet environmental restrictions... which is not true of old ones making that argument a completely moot point.

My bad:ilied:, I'd throw in a VQ35.