2014 Subaru WRX and STi to break away from the Impreza

Not a bad idea for a first post. Anyone who has run into me in the last 5 years or so, has seen me as a hopeless Subaru addict. I've been privileged to have owned 2 legacies and 5 impreza's to date, and all of them have been amazing cars, whether naturally aspirated, base models, or full-on turbo beasts. It appears that Subaru is going to change the WRX and WRX-STi platform, to break it off from the Impreza line, according to Autoblog and Car Advice

Here is a rendering by Motortrend - not really what we can expect, just something to get the mind going:

Most interesting? Perhaps this information from a Subaru spokesman:
"Apart from a few nuts and bolts, every part on the WRX will be unique. Even the engine and body." (the WRX and STi will be) "radically modified and significantly shortened."

As short as a Yaris!

Wow. In reflection, I went in search of the specs, as the Yaris is typically thought of as a really tiny car. It turns out that the first generation of the WRX GC's were really, pretty much the same size as the first gen of the Yaris (or Toyota Vitz). 2" wider, 3" shorter and 30" longer. The STi has grown over the years, but the main difference to dimensions on paper is the weight. Around 300Kg have been added to the weight of the original, rally winning GC8 chassis. The 2011 Sedan is about 11 inches longer, and about 3" wider.

Perhaps what is most shocking is the engine plans. According to the same spokesman, the new engine will be a 1.6L that may put out 200 to 270 hp. Rumours of using a supercharger alongside a turbocharger are floating around as well. Quite strange to anyone familiar with the standard layout of the Subaru Boxer engines of the past.