First look: Subaru's styling preview

YOU'RE looking at an artist's impression released by Subaru of a concept coupe it will unveil at the Geneva motor show next month.

Subaru has announced little detail of the car except that embodies a possible future design and styling philosophy for the company.

Subaru has also confirmed the coupe will be a four-seater with a boxer engine and all-wheel drive.

It will be unveiled by Mr Kyoji Takenaka, the President of Fuji Heavy Industries, at Geneva on March 4.

The coupe is the work of Subaru's new advanced design boss Andreas Zapatinas, who was poached from Alfa Romeo where his credits include the 147.

Considering that, it's not hard to see where the inspiration for the Subaru concept's prominent grille came from.

Don't expect to see the new style popping up on any production models soon, such as Subaru's next generation Liberty and Outback that are launched here in the last quarter of this year.

Subaru's investigation of new styling directions is understandable considering the company has struggled in that regard - the current Impreza's quick-time facelift an obvious example of that - and it is far more highly respected for its engineering.

The coupe is said to be powered by a 180kW-plus 3.0-litre boxer engine mated to a five-speed automatic gearbox.

Overall development is said to have been shared between Subaru and its high performance division, STi.

According to European media reports the push for the coupe originally came from General Motors, which owns a 20 per cent share of Subaru. GM wants Subaru to sell the car in the USA.

Subaru itself isn't confirming any production possibilities for the coupe at this stage, however.