While STI might return soon, don’t expect it to be the ICE performance value it was years ago
- Subaru’s European boss just hinted at a revival of the STI brand.
- It could lead to more performance-oriented models in the near future.
- The brand will have to do a lot to regain its original performance reputation, though.
Subaru has made the headlines a few times this week, but it’s been for cars like the Trailseeker EV and the Outback SUV. The last time it made waves for a performance car was in July 2024 with the Project Midnight. Of course, that was really just a slap in the face to WRX STI fans. Now, Subaru’s European boss is saying the quiet part out loud. Subaru is missing the sportiness and performance it was once known for.
Speaking to Autocar, David Dello Stritto said that “there are plans to bring back the sportiness in Subaru”. He added that the brand currently stands for being safe, fun, and tough, but the performance bit is missing.
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“Ask the average person what Subaru means, and they’ll say STI. You can’t disassociate this from Subaru. So we need to bring sportiness back to Subaru. Right now, we couldn’t do it: Europe says you can’t, because you have a GPF [gasoline particulate filter] that can literally choke your engine,” he said. Sounds like an EV or a hybrid is the only way for an STI revival.
“With an EV you’ve got the power and performance, and you’ve got an all-wheel drive system. We’re working on more sporty models, and electrification allows us to do this. Let’s face it, it’s nice to have that prospect of a future WRX STI – super-fast, gold wheels, blue colour. This is what we want, at the end of the day,” he explained. The brand has already filed trademarks for STe, so we can see an electrified STI coming down the pipeline.
The reality is that Subaru has a lot left to do if it wants to get back into the performance space. For decades, it’s rested on its laurels on the original WRX. The very first USDM WRX STI made 300 horsepower and 300 lb-ft of torque. It weighed 3,263 pounds and was capable of getting up to 18 mpg combined. Oh, and it could rocket from 0-60 mph in 4.8 seconds.
The last USDM WRX STI from 2021 made 310 horsepower and 290 lb-ft of torque. It weighed 3,450 pounds and could achieve up to 18 mpg combined. It could go from 0-60 mph in 5.5 seconds. Overall, that’s zero performance progress and in some cases, regression.
In fact, it technically sells a new WRX STI S210 in Japan, limited to 500 units, and the numbers are even worse. It makes just 296 horsepower (221 kW) and 276 lb-ft (375 Nm) of torque. Strangely, Subaru didn’t even mention its 0-60 time in its official press release.
Subaru doesn’t even offer a WRX STI anymore. The current WRX on sale is no doubt a much more luxurious car than in years past, but it’s nowhere near the performance value the earliest USDM examples were. Hopefully, Dello Stritto and the team have a way to pull off what they haven’t in about two decades.
However, before a true performance flagship arrives, Subaru needs to make money from mainstream models. Speaking to Auto Express, Stritto admitted: “I need volume first. I need to sell my SUVs. They need to make money. We all need to get back on track. It’s a very difficult moment but once things get settled, we can afford the luxury of looking for that new halo model and please that very important subset of our customers.”
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