Tougher Subaru Outback teased

A tougher ‘adventure-ready’ version of the new 2021 Subaru Outback will make its world debut next week and it’s on the cards for Australia, where deliveries of the sixth-generation crossover wagon have been halted for an unspecified reason.

Yesterday Subaru of America confirmed the new Outback derivative, expected to be called the Wilderness, will be revealed online at its ‘something wild’ microsite at 11:00am ET next Tuesday – 4:00am AEST March 31 in Australia.

The announcement was accompanied by the first teaser shot, revealing what appears to be a higher-riding Outback wearing chunkier body-side cladding and big black alloy wheels wrapped in Yokohama Geolandar all-terrain tyres.

“The legendary Outback is the most rugged, most capable vehicle in the Subaru line-up. But what if Subaru pushed things further? Or went higher?” said the Japanese car-maker.

“Get ready to take your adventures to the next level in a new kind of Outback with even more capability and off-road features.”

On March 16, Subaru USA said: “The next evolution of Subaru capability is coming, and it is packed with functional technology and rugged features, inside and out.”

Further details and local availability are yet to be confirmed, but Subaru Australia previously told carsales last month it continues to study both Wilderness and more powerful turbocharged versions of the new Outback.

“We’ll be following progress in North America with interest and certainly it’ll be a point of discussion with the factory in Japan, but at this stage there’s no definite timeline,” Subaru Australia spokesman David Rowley told carsales today.

When it was launched in February, the Mk6 Subaru Outback arrived with only a single powertrain – an upgraded 138kW/245Nm 2.5-litre flat four-cylinder petrol engine, eliminating the previous generation’s 191kW/350Nm 3.6-litre boxer six and diesel power from Subaru’s Australian line-up completely.

But Subaru Australia has confirmed it is keen to introduce the turbocharged 195kW/375Nm 2.4-litre boxer available in the US-spec Outback locally, where it could power the new range-topping Wilderness variant – which is expected to form a new sub-brand that may expand to other Subaru models.

Subaru’s new turbo engine will power a variety of upcoming models due on sale later this year, including the new Subaru Levorg wagon and the new WRX that’s expected to bring outputs up to 213kW/412Nm. They will be followed by the even more powerful new Subaru WRX STI in 2022.

Also due here from around the middle of 2021 is the new Subaru BRZ coupe, which gets a non-turbo 2.4-litre boxer, and the facelifted Forester which will stick with its atmo 2.5 and miss out on the newer 2.4 and turbo power altogether.

Meantime, Subaru Australia this week issued its dealers with a stop-delivery notice for the all-new Outback following advice from its parent company in Japan, just a month after its launch.

Subaru dealers are still taking orders for the new Outback, but are telling new and pre-existing purchasers there will now be an unspecified waiting time for delivery.

Subaru Australia told carsales today that it should be in a position to advise its dealers and customers of next steps by the end of this week.

“The ETA for formal information from Japan is Friday and as soon as we have that we’ll move quickly to update customers and dealers and, where necessary, progress any work required,” is said in a statement.