Auto Moto

Honda is engaging in a rather drawn-out teaser campaign for the new Civic Type R, and this time we get to see a video of it romping around Suzuka Circuit in Japan.

You can watch the short, action-packed video above to see Honda putting the hatchback through its paces as it prepares for the car's reveal later this year. There isn't anything new to see on display since Honda still has it wrapped in a full outfit of camouflage, but just like the last couple times we've seen it, this custom camo is thin and revealing enough on its own.

Subaru wasted no time in giving the Solterra, its first series-produced electric car, the STI treatment. Part of it, anyways. It introduced a concept called Solterra STI at the 2022 Tokyo Auto Salon that features a sportier-looking exterior design and a stock drivetrain.

Displayed next to the Nürburgring-bound STI E-RA, the Solterra STI stands out with a body kit that includes a front splitter, rocker panel extensions on both sides, winglets on either side of the rear bumper and a roof-mounted spoiler. Many of these add-ons are painted cherry red to create a visual link between the Solterra STI and some of the other STI-badged cars that Subaru displayed in the Japanese capital.

Good morning and welcome to our daily digest of automotive news from around the globe, starting with…

Subaru traveled to the 2022 Tokyo Auto Salon to unveil a new race car concept and to announce an ambitious goal. It built the electric STI E-RA design study with help from Yamaha to beat the time set by the Porsche 911 GT2 RS on Germany's grueling Nürburgring racetrack.

While the Japanese company didn't specifically single out the 911 GT2 RS, it said that its goal is to lap the circuit in under 400 seconds, which represents six minutes and 40 seconds; that's the exact time set by a Manthey-Racing-modified 911 GT2 RS in October 2018. Subaru hopes to achieve this by powering the STI E-RA with four in-wheel electric motors whose total output checks in at about 1,072 horsepower.

One of the continuing controversies about the revived Toyota Supra takes aim at its lack of a manual transmission. In early 2020, not long after the coupe hit the market, chief engineer Tetsuya Tada repeatedly explained that although his team had tested a manual Supra, there were three main reasons it wouldn't be offered: The eight-speed automatic was faster and better; the automatic could handle more torque, which would reduce gearbox explosions on beastly tunes as happened on previous, tuned Supras; and the Supra needed tech spec daylight between it and the manual-equipped GR86. Manual-loving enthusiasts barely listened. The Tada line they did pay attention to was, "We are open to talking to the sales and marketing teams after everyone experiences [the automatic]. [A manual] is not totally out of the question." So those enthusiasts kept griping about the manual omission. And Tada, being a man of his word, has potentially delivered. According to The Drive, a six-speed manual Supra is on the way, perhaps as soon as this year.

By August of last year there were rumors in Japan that Toyota was preparing a six-speed manual for the Supra. It wasn't clear if the stick would be served up on the base 2.0-liter four-cylinder model or the inline-six cylinder; BMW offers a manual with the Supra's Z4 roadster sibling only on the 2.0-liter-powered sDrive20i. Yet the gearbox rumor came with another rumor that there'd be a special GRMN Supra using the BMW S58 engine in the M3 and M4, a 3.0-liter six-cylinder mated to a six-speed transmission at a reduced tune of 437 hp and 442 pound-feet of torque. 

Subaru has presented three striking STI concepts at the Tokyo Auto Salon based around the new WRX S4, BRZ, and Levorg.

Hatches don't get much hotter than the Honda Civic Type R and the company is giving us a glimpse at the redesigned model by introducing a prototype at the Tokyo Auto Salon.

Anyone know a good digital plumber, because Toyota's Gazoo Racing Team needs one quick if a picture apparently leaked from the Tokyo Auto Salon is anything to go by.

Enthusiasts whose resolution for 2022 is to finally put their classic Toyota back on the road may be in luck. Gazoo Racing is expanding its Heritage Parts catalog with 56 hard-to-find items that are no longer in production, including components for the 40-Series Land Cruiser.

Announced in August 2021, the first batch of reproduction 40-Series parts includes a brake master cylinder, a steering relay rod, and 31 other items that haven't been detailed yet. We know the list focuses on parts related to critical functions, like driving, turning and braking.

Well, this is a first. Normally, three-row vehicles are so enormous that doing a luggage test with the third row lowered is a total "no kidding" proposition. I'd run out of stuff in my garage long before I'd fill up a Kia Telluride. As such, I only test the space behind the raised third row of three-row SUVs because that can actually be some useful information.

The 2022 Mitsubishi Outlander is not a typical three-row SUV, however. It's one of only two SUVs in the compact segment, along with the Volkswagen Tiguan, that offers a third-row seat. As I've already demonstrated, it's not much a seat, but its presence and the need to accommodate it does mean the Outlander has one of the largest cargo volumes in the compact segment. 

Automakers and PR representatives are notoriously tight-lipped about upcoming vehicles. The infamous line that all of us in the car news business are familiar with is, "We cannot comment on future product." But this week, Honda opened up a little bit and laid out its big reveals for the coming year, and it's going to be a busy one. It all starts with the 2023 Honda HR-V, shown in the renderings above.

The company didn't share a whole lot of details since it was focusing on the broad product plans, but it did note that it will be "unique to North America." It's not clear if it's just styling, which is abundantly obvious compared to the European HR-V and Japanese Vezel shown below, or if it will have a different platform and powertrains. We suspect the latter, since looking at the renderings, not only does it have a meaner, more aggressive look, but the glass in the greenhouse is different, as are the door handles.

There have been rumors of Mazda reviving the rotary engine on a regular basis since the RX-8 ended production in 2012. The company itself has been pretty quiet about the rotary engine, except as a planned range extender in an upcoming plug-in hybrid version of the MX-30. However, Mazda has filed a patent application for a triple-rotor hybrid powertrain. And unlike in the MX-30, it not only appears to be the main propulsion unit, but it's also configured for a rear-wheel-drive layout.

The patent was filed with the European Patent Office, according to Japanese blogger taku2-4885. One of the detailed diagrams clearly depicts a rotary engine with three housings, similar in architecture to the triple-rotor found in the Japan-market Eunos Cosmo of the early 1990s. The rotary engine is connected to a 48-volt mild-hybrid assist system and a rear transaxle, similar to a Japanese patent for an RX-Vision-like coupe discovered back in August. There's also a description of a cooling system, something the hot-running rotary engine needs to maintain a long life.

Good morning and welcome to our daily digest of automotive news from around the globe, starting with…

The Subaru Forester has just been updated for the 2022 model year in Europe with a host of safety improvements and various other updates.