SPY PICS: Subaru's new 2014 WRX

The first spy photos of Subaru’s next-generation WRX have been captured in Germany, revealing a design that has more in common with the regular Impreza sedan than the drop-dead gorgeous WRX Concept that debuted in New York last month.

Snapped testing near the infamous Nurburgring road circuit, the camouflaged Subaru WRX eschews the concept car's dramatically rising shoulder line, instead showing a fairly conventional, horizontal interpretation.

The roofline is not as sleek or low as the concept car's, and its wing mirrors are fixed to the doors, not the A-pillars. Also, the grille and lower air-dam are smaller than the concept study.

The front-end appears to have more in common with the WRX concept car, however, with swept headlights and foglight/driving light nacelles giving the car an aggressive demeanour.

Pumped wheel-arches and trademark vents behind the front wheel wells add machismo, and the giant "clothes dryer" rear wing suggests this vehicle could even be an STI mule.

The WRX's iconic bonnet scoop makes a return and the car's bodykit comprises lower front fascia, side skirts and a rear diffuser that are all much milder than those seen on the WRX Concept in New York, while large 19-inch BBS wheels appear to be in use.

Making use of Subaru's much-loved all-wheel drive system, the new 2014 WRX is expected to be powered by a variation of the engine used in the new Forester XT, a 2.0-litre turbocharged direct-injected four-cylinder boxer delivering 177kW/350Nm.

Though the new WRX engine will displace less than the current model's 2.5-litre turbo-petrol boxer, the new 2.0-litre WRX is expected to generate at least the same power outputs of 195kW/343Nm.

Moreover, Subaru says the new model will be the fastest WRX yet, thanks in part to weight reductions potentially including carbon-fibre and aluminium body panels.

The new Rex will be based on the same platform as Subaru’s latest Impreza, but will have its own unique look to distance it from its more pedestrian small-car cousins.

Currently priced at $39,990 in Australia, the outgoing WRX is available in hatch and sedan body styles, but the new model will be exclusively offered in four-door sedan form with either manual or automatic (CVT) transmissions.

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