So I bought a used 05 Touring edition yesterday. In the lot I looked at two 8s, the aforementioned 05, and an 08 which I think was a touring as well. Inside the trunk of the 05 there looks to be a strut tower bar with some kind of plate in the middle of the bar. Looked like it would hold a spare tire or something, but no tire to be found. It looks kind of OEM, just a black strut tower bar. Funny thing is I don't remember seeing this on any 8s I've looked at. It wasn't in the 08 they had on the lot either. I would take pics but unfortunately I had to get the car inspected and won't see it till next week. Is this aftermarket?

 

If the bar looks like THIS That is for mounting the OPTIONAL spare tire. It has zero effect on handling.

 

That's it! Makes sense. It looked like it might stiffen the chassis a bit though. Maybe it's just not bolted down to any real part of the chassis.

Thanks expo!