Subaru Crosstrek Boost Gear concept headed to the Tokyo Auto Salon

Subaru has unveiled two of the concepts that it's bringing to the 2023 edition of the Tokyo Auto Salon. Based on the Crosstrek and the Rex, respectively, the Boost Gear-badged design studies receive numerous add-ons intended to make them more capable off the beaten path.

The annual Tokyo Auto Salon is like Japan's version of SEMA and the Crosstrek Boost Gear should fit right in. While official details haven't been released yet, we can tell that the Impreza-derived crossover stands a little taller than the regular-production model thanks in part to a lifted suspension system and meaty mud-terrain tires. It also gains a Crosstrek-branded piece of trim on the front end, additional cladding on the doors, side steps, and a two-tone paint job. The finishing touch is a Rhino-Rack roof rack with a wide LED light bar and an awning.

Shown above, the Rex moves in a similar direction but doesn't go quite as far down the modification road as the Crosstrek. While it wears the same two-tone paint job, mud-terrain tires, and blue mud flaps as the Crosstrek, it eschews the cladding and the roof rack. Don't worry if the name doesn't sound familiar: the current-generation Rex is a badge-engineered Daihatsu Rocky sold exclusively in Japan since 2022.

More information about Subaru's Boost Gear concepts will emerge in the coming weeks. We notably don't know if they're design studies, if they preview upcoming accessories, or if they hint at a more off-road capable trim level like the Wilderness variants of the Outback and the Forester. And, not all of the concepts that Subaru will unveil at the Tokyo Auto Salon were designed to go off-road; some were created with performance in mind. We'll notably see the new Impreza fitted with STI parts and a hot-rodded station wagon called Levorg STI Sport.

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