Jon in CT Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 From http://www.subaru.com.au/news/?newsid=12421: Subaru's Liberty Blitzen the opposition Subaru today unveiled the stunning limited edition Liberty Blitzen at Melbourne International Motor Show. It uses striking styling cues from the Japanese domestic market Legacy Blitzen, which until now has never been available in Australia. Blitzen (the German word for lightning) combines the potent ability of the existing Liberty 3.0R spec.B with a long list of body and interior changes to produce a car with unique personality. Available in bright red or obsidian black, it includes a new aerodynamic package including front grille, front and rear bumpers, side sills, roof spoiler on the wagon and 18-inch alloy wheels - underpinned by the safety of Subaru’s famed All-Wheel Drive. Just 200 of these superb touring cars are available, in both automatic and manual transmission variants, sedan and wagon. Liberty Blitzen’s sporty character is highlighted by wider bumpers, flared sills and the honeycomb grille. The wheel pattern is also unique to the model. The 3.0 litre horizontally opposed boxer engine is the same as that which powered the Liberty 3.0R to its recent win in the combined national motoring organization awards, as Australia’s Best Luxury Car under $57,000. Liberty Blitzen is expected to be available in June 2006, for a strictly limited period. Pricing will be announced closer to the release date. It shares the same independent ANCAP five-star crashworthiness rating for occupant safety as all other Liberty variants. Nick Senior, Managing Director, Subaru Australia, said: "For some years Subaru fans in Australia have followed the various Blitzen versions available in Japan. We’re delighted to reward their interest with this limited edition, prepared especially for the Australian market. Once again it demonstrates the high regard that Fuji Heavy Industries has for our Australian customers, tailoring a car especially for our domestic needs. It’s got tremendous road presence and combined with the highly acclaimed chassis set-up and engine of the Liberty 3.0R spec.B, we think there will be considerable interest." Standard features include: ABS Brakes with EBD Adjustable steering column Airbags – dual front side and curtain Air-conditioning - climate control All-Wheel Drive Bilstein sports suspension Cruise control DataDot security system Eight-way power driver and passenger seats Electronic throttle control system Leather steering wheel, gear shift & park brake McIntosh premium audio system with 13 speakers – six stack in-dash CD player Momo sports steering wheel Power steering, mirrors and windows Sportshift on automatic http://subaru.com.au/news/images/Blitzen_large.gifhttp://subaru.com.au/news/images/Blitzen_small.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gohmer1 Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 Except for the rear and the front bumper, I find it icky looking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jj808 Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 All i can see are red X's but i think that might be due to the networks permissions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jedi Pimp Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 Blitzen is the right name for it - its all flash and no dash for your cash. And those rims are fugly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two-Five Sti-L Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 the USDM front end actually looks better than this one! Chalk one up for the Yankees!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tintinet Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 Well, I like it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dark_rex Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 i like it, but there's nothing really new to it... like brembos, 6 speed etc. the roof spoiler would be cool, but the pic doens't show it. ? dR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aldo ixnay Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 I'd take that front bumper/grill combo anyday over ours. Except for the wheels I really like the looks but I wouldn't buy an Automatic transmission. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agctr Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 The Aussies do it right again and again. Nice to see that both Subaru Japan and Subaru Australia have so much faith in the Australian Market place. This also fills the void of no GT till October due to the 2.0L not meeting EUROIII spec requirements. Ada///M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TobyR Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 Am I the only one that would like to see rear wiper on USDM GT's? T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VXCL Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 i hate the front grill and the wheels look like mazda 6s. other then that its cool. the rear is nice. MAYHEM #122/22 STS NNJR SCCA AUTOX4U.COM XENON RETRO GUIDE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agctr Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 Not too many ppl like the rear wiper idea and unsure it would get thru USDM Regulations as well. Ada///M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scans007 Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 I like it, and I'd love a rear wiper here in NE.......My old mazda 6s had one Bring it over Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agctr Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 They are the seats we get in the STi...... Ada///M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjmdesigns Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 Well, I like it! Me too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gargleblaster Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 I like the fact you can get it in wagon form. The wheels are a little cheesy, but the rest is very nice, IMHO. Founder - The Harry F. Johnson Memorial Fund Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilT Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 Not too many ppl like the rear wiper idea and unsure it would get thru USDM Regulations as well. Ada///M. I see loads of people asking about the rear wiper on the sedan, what's the issue with USDM regulations ? Double Award Winning Legacy GT Wagon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rfd425 Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 I'd rather have the Aussie Liberty tuned by STi. I don't want a rear wiper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IwannaSportSedan Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 Liberty STI has it all over this car, aside from ONE thing. Color. I love this color. Front bumper looks audi-ish. Ok... mid-pack. some better, some worse. I am not a fan of the rear bumper with the hole in the middle. I am not the biggest fan of the flush-mesh grille either, but any JDM-Spec B size bumper (Zero-sports, K2Gear, 2.0GT Spec B OEM, et. al.) will fit it. Wheels. Look interesting in the pictures, but not sure if they are a design I could keep looking at for the life of the car. Diamond Black BBS RGRs would look HAWT in their place, or the STI BBS 10-radial-spoke wheels. Kinda interesting that it gets the 3.0 Liter H6, rather than the non-Euro III compliant 2.0 Twin-scroll. Neither of which come to the US in the Legacy, and the USDM 2.5T is going to Australia. Interior is nice. Black leather, black perforated alcantara, and red stitching. nice. Looks like it gets a black headliner, as well (aside from the white reflective surface for the picture lighting. Otherwise it looks like a lot of flash, and about the same dash, for more cash. Libery STI is a better choice for performance. The Blitzen is more for attention and appearance. Too bad you can't get that Liberty STI in Solid Red, or in the US at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agctr Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 Liberty STI has it all over this car. Kinda interesting that it gets the 3.0 Liter H6, rather than the non-Euro III compliant 2.0 Twin-scroll. Neither of which come to the US in the Legacy, and the USDM 2.5T is going to Australia. Interior is nice. Black leather, black perforated alcantara, and red stitching. nice. Looks like it gets a black headliner, as well (aside from the white reflective surface for the picture lighting. Otherwise it looks like a lot of flash, and about the same dash, for more cash. Libery STI is a better choice for performance. The Blitzen is more for attention and appearance. Too bad you can't get that Liberty STI in Solid Red, or in the US at all. Colour Im not personally sold on, might look different in the flesh though. Seats are very nice and extremely comfortable. Agreed, the STi GT looks a lot more together. And still not confirmed if the new spec 2.0L T will be making it Down Under or the 2.5T that the USDM gets now. Ada///M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rfd425 Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 Why not?Just one more thing to break, and it would make cleaning snow & ice off the rear window more of a pain. Plus, I don't think rear wipers are aesthetically pleasing on a sport sedan. I've never had a problem seeing out the rear window. If rain is the concern, Rain-X does wonders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gargleblaster Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 Make the rear wiper an option. Everybody wins. Founder - The Harry F. Johnson Memorial Fund Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IwannaSportSedan Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 That would be one hella-expensive option, for what it is... different rear glass, rear deck upholstery and structure, rear wiper motor, wiring and dash switch assembly, possibly different rear chmsl housing... That is a lot of parts affected, and some kind of expensive, just for a rear wiper, and each part has a carrying/stocking cost. For a less invasive feature, or a feature that people don't mind paying for, it isn't such an issue. (like NAV should be... Some will pay for that, others don't want to have to.) but adding a rear wiper would be an expensive option, for the priviledge of having a rear wiper. Do you want to pay many hundreds of dollars (possibly over $1k) for a rear wiper, to cover SOA's cost of manufacturing and stocking BOTH sets of parts. Something like that either is built in standard, or left off completely in order to save having to stock two sets of parts, like glass. If the rear wiper were standard on the sedan, the non-wiper-setup parts costs could be deducted (they wouldn't need to exist), and the price difference at the end of the day would be small. Offering the choice, is where the costs double, or more. I wouldn't mind if it were standard. It isn't something that breaks the deal for not being there. Other things impress upon my decision to buy a Legacy more. I am BIG on having choices available, and speak on it regularly, but this one particularly seems to be too expensive to have as a choice. Anyway, back on topic... It is nice that the Blitzen is spreading out from Japan. If it does well in Australia (considering how fast the LibertySTI seems to be selling, it should do OK...) then FHI/SoJ might be more inclined to export other special models, like the WR Limited, and continue offering the Liberty STI. Maybe it will be a point of contention that FHI can persuade SOA to offer more special models in North America, too. I have never actually seen a bright red 05+ Legacy. They don't exist here, and haven't really been outside of japan until now. But the BD-series (97-2000) had a bright red color, and they look great. Especially the 5MT WRX and tuned transplanted Legacy Limited on this board. But from the pictures, the lines of the legacy actually look good with a bright color paint. The boldness of the paint, and the dignified lines of the body work go together well. Plus, I like bright colors. So many things in the world are bland and grey, especially in Iowa, in the winter. It gets damn bleak. I like sporty cars in nice bright colors. (black and white look good, I am getting tired of silver and grey.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rfd425 Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 Make the rear wiper an option. Everybody wins.Subaru isn't real big on giving their customers a lot of choices. The upside to that is it helps keep the cars less expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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