UK Firm's Kinda, Sorta Wants to Recreate Subaru WRX Concept…But Not Really

The name is Bond, Michael Bond, and he is the founder and owner of a UK company called Rumbler that is purportedly planning to recreate the looks of the striking 2013 Subaru WRX Concept on the production WRX with a project codenamed "Concept 13".

To my knowledge, Subaru has only confirmed a limited number of units of the WRX STI (and not the WRX) for Britain, but Rumbler says it will "by-pass the normal supply channels to import additional models specifically for the Concept 13 project". How that's possible and if Subaru UK will allow it, is something I do not know.

But what exactly will Rumbler do to the production car to make it look more like the study we all loved? Well, here's what the press blurb states:

"It will restyle the WRX body to reflect the original Subaru concept around the nose and tail and recreate its sophisticated modern design style. Although little can be done with the bulk of the body every customer will also be given tuning options for the engine to raise performance above the standard model from 350 bhp upwards to a maximum potential of 1,000 bhp depending on the customer's preference and budget."

Leaving aside the insane horsepower figure coming from a company that, on its website, showcases drawings of a Batmobile Tumbler-inspired study and the Ultra-Smart Watch, the whole idea sounds vague, if you ask me, and let's be honest; the concept looked great mostly because of its proportions and low-slung, coupe-like styling, both of which can't be recreated without new sheetmetal from top to bottom. Deleting the rear wing and adding a new fascia and rear diffuser won't really turn the WRX into the impressive concept, will it...

Right now, it's only an idea with Rumbler stating that, "production will begin when we cross the threshold of fifty (50) confirmed orders. There is no upper limit," and adding that, "At present the Concept 13 project is limited to the UK/British Isles (including Eire) but may be extended to other markets with sufficient demand".

We know for a fact that Subaru has priced the WRX STI at £28,995 a pop in the UK – so if Bond is referring to the STI and not the plain WRX, that would mean an investment of at least £1.45 million (US$2.4 million) for the cars alone.

A visit to Rumbler's website, where Michael Bond describes himself as "confidential escrow financial services agent" by day and a "technology designer, innovator and occasional writer" by night, will probably raise more questions than answers (i.e. this: "Acquiring The RUMBLER Sport Tank – FREE)", at least until we see something tangible to back up the talk.  

Subaru Warms Up New Viziv 2 Concept for Geneva; Is it Pondering a Production Version?

We would have preferred it if Subaru placed their focus on the BRZ-esque Cross Sport Concept, but we guess the similar-bodied Viziv will have to do for now. After the original Viziv Concept from the 2013 Geneva Auto Show and the oh-so slightly updated 2013 Tokyo show Viziv Evolution (it gained a different grille and dark headlamps), the Japanese firm has announced the introduction of a third version of the series dubbed Viziv 2, which will make its world premiere at next month's Geneva show.

Subaru tells us that the Viziv 2 "is a future-generation crossover concept that signifies a future path for the Subaru's brand value of "Enjoyment and Peace of Mind". No other of piece of information was given about the concept car.

In the single teaser image that was attached to the release, we see that, compared to the two previous concepts (pictured below in the second and third row of our gallery), the new Viziv 2 adopts a different fascia and lights.

The first two studies featured a hybrid powerplant coupling a 2.0-liter horizontally-opposedturbo diesel engine to a pair of rear-mounted electric motors, which may or may not be the case for the latest concept.