Subaru Levorg Layback teased: WRX crossover?

Subaru is teasing its new project. The WRX has seen some success here in the country, and its partner in crime, the WRX Wagon, may welcome a new crossover in the WRX family, so to speak. 

In Japan, the WRX Wagon is known as the Levorg. Not too long ago, Subaru changed up the naming scheme of their cars in the international markets, thus the Levorg has since become the WRX Wagon here in the Philippines. The jump from one name to the next is not so far off since either of the two is essentially the same underneath—platform, and powertrain-wise. 

However, what’s a little further from the WRX formula is a crossover. While it’s not weird to consider the possibility of a sportier crossover in the Subaru lineup, doing it to the WRX nameplate may raise a few eyebrows. If the teasers are anything to go by, this could be a very promising crossover for the Japanese market and potentially the international market. Will it be promising for the WRX or Levorg nameplate? We’ll have to see about that. 

We can already tell that this crossover will essentially be a raised WRX Wagon perhaps with a couple of unique trim pieces and body panels. Being part of the WRX and Levorg family, however, we can guess that it’s going to get the same powertrain as found in the WRX Wagon and sedan, namely a 2.2-liter turbocharged boxer engine, get the brand’s Symmetrical All-Wheel-Drive system, and also get a power figure over the 200 hp mark. 

As to where it will slot in the lineup, it’ll get a place between the Crosstrek and the Outback and might be somewhere around the size of the Forester if not a little bigger. 

As to the date of the grand reveal, Subaru hasn’t announced yet, however, the pre-order books in Japan are set to open up on September 7, 2023, so we can expect an unveiling event before that. 

It’s also very likely that Subaru may make this Japan-only model. The brand hasn’t made any solid hints yet of its plans for the Levorg Layback’s availability in international markets. At the moment, it’s still up in the air but if you remember the Forester XT and lust after that model, perhaps this could be a sort of spiritual successor of sorts. The question of whether the Philippines will receive a model like this will likely be answered in the future, or leave us lusting on end for a boxer turbo crossover from Subaru.