In addition to barging into a Tokyo Toyota showroom and shooting the latest Century, the folks at Japanese Nostalgic Car Magazine proceeded to take their act down the street to the nearest Subaru dealership, where they got some nice photos of the new R2. Make the jump for more photos and Ben Hsu's description.
The R2 came out in 2003 and was, I believe, the first car to sport the 'flying vadge' (yes, I've been reading the words of Slut Machine) grille. As you can see, it was mercifully sacked during the mid-model refresh. The variety of drivetrains is mindbending for a car easily dwarfed by a Yaris - CVT transmission; front or all wheel drive; 660cc SOHC or DOHC engine, the latter of which comes with either Subaru's version of variable valve timing or supercharger plus intercooler. The most hoon-able setup (relatively speaking) makes about 63hp.
This particular example is an R2 Refi Bitter Selection, which really just means it's for chicks, and for that, is a bit unfortunately named. This one's, in Subaru's parlance, exclusive "Mocha Bronze X Red upholstery", though it's also available in Berry Rouge X Pink, or, for the ice queens, Black X Tan. There's a slide-out drawer under the front seat for stowing an extra pair of heels.
Don't forget to check out JNC's coverage of the Japanese Classic Car Association's New Year Meeting, which is essentially the biggest concentration of vintage Japanese iron you could possibly hallucinate in your most fevered dreams.