2015 Legacy Concept moves flagship to true sports sedan status

The Subaru Legacy flagship has never been considered a true sports sedan. Will the next-generation Legacy attain global sports sedan status? For any car to make it for a quarter of a century, it has to be something special. The Subaru Legacy is celebrating 25 years and five generations of changes. When the 2015 Subaru Legacy Concept is unveiled this week in LA, the "Ocean Silver Metallic" sedan will serve as toast to 25 years of the flagship Subaru sedan. But the real story could be its transformation to becoming a true sports sedan.

The Subaru Legacy sedan was born in 1989, and has served as the flagship for the brand for twenty five years. It’s been praised for its safety, dependability and driving performance around the globe. In Australia, it’s called the Liberty because of the Legacy charity organization in the country down under. Around the world it has delivered the combination of Subaru Boxer engine and Symmetrical AWD (S-AWD), Subaru's unique core technology for 25 years. But it’s never been considered a performance sedan.

Legacy is becoming a true sports sedan

Legacy is in its fifth-generation and the current model, which debuted in 2009, has delivered new technologies and moved into the mainstream and made some progress in becoming a sports sedan. In 2009 the flagship finally “grew up” in size and became a global mid-size sedan. It needed to grow to compete with the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. But is Legacy ready to make the next step now?

Now as it gets ready for its six-generation, the 25th anniversary of the Legacy sees the flagship make the next step in its evolution. This model shows the design direction of next generation Legacy mid-size sedan models and where Subaru is headed. The Japanese automaker as a brand is growing up too, and the new 2015 Legacy will launch the brand forward.

A coupe-like design

It starts outside with a bold new design that gives the Legacy a coupe-like four door styling. If the Legacy is going to really compete for global status as a mid-size sports sedan, it had to make this transformational change. The large 21-inch wheels and athletic body point to how the sedan is being transformed into a sporty contender.

The front end of the new 2015 Legacy starts with Subaru's iconic hexagon front grille and continues to the whole body. We can see the iconic grille that was first employed on the SUBARU VIZIV CONCEPT which was revealed at the 2013 Geneva motor show. It also gets a more aggressive fascia that shows the sporty character underneath.

The most exciting part of the new Legacy design language comes from the side view. It’s been given a sleek and sporty side profile created by a fast roofline and a flowing side window. The coupe-like appearance of the Legacy has taken a page from the Mercedes-Benz CLA four-door coupe that is making waves around the globe. This new Legacy will launch Subaru to a new status around the globe.

Sporty feel inside and out

Subaru has not released any performance details, but the dual tailpipes built in the edge of rear bumper tells us this sport sedan will have enough power to be considered a formidable challenger in “Sport Trim.” Maybe we’ll see a new Legacy GT model with the six-generation sedan?

Step inside and the sporty feel continues. Subaru says drivers will be welcomed by a sporty cylinder shape meter and 3-spoke steering wheel. Also its shifter is angled to align with the driver's seating position to inspire “a sporty driving feel.” Add in heated and cooled seats, a head-up display, a high-tech multi-function in the instrument panel and the new six-generation Legacy is ready to take on the competition.

Maybe the new-generation 2015 Subaru Legacy will be a true global sports sedan. Look for the 2015 Subaru Legacy Concept to be officially unveiled on Wednesday, November 20. Stay tuned.