Subaru’s XV Crosstrek can be more than a granola-mobile for taking your kids to organic yoga, it seems. The automaker is preparing a spiced-up version of its homely tall hatchback festooned with high-performance goodies from its in-house STI tuning arm for the Tokyo Auto Salon?think of it as Japan’s version of the SEMA aftermarket show. Subaru plans to display it alongside the BRZ-based STI concept from the 2015 New York auto show, as well as a new Levorg (Impreza station wagon not sold in the U.S.) concept also decked out in STI bits. 

Can’t swing a flight to Japan" Allow us to summarize the new concepts, the Levorg STI and the XV Crosstrek STI. Photos are forthcoming, but Subaru describes the Levorg as having STI-brand 18-inch wheels, a special front fascia, and a two-tone red-and-black interior. Performance enhancements include “STI-tuned” dampers, and . . . so far that’s all.
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The Crosstrek STI is of far greater interest, anyway, since it’s the only model?besides the BRZ/STI concept?that has an ice-cube’s chance of making it to the U.S., were Subaru to build it at all. That task wouldn’t be terribly difficult, either: The regular XV Crosstrek is little more than an Impreza hatchback with extra ground clearance, and the Impreza shares...