Citing the market’s shift towards electrification, Subaru has confirmed the new WRX will not be given the STI treatment, though hintedthe badge could be reserved for a fresh battery-powered performance model down the line…

If you’ve been waiting patiently for Subaru to whip the wraps off the new WRX STI, we’ve got some terrible news for you. The Japanese automaker has unexpectedly announced that there won’t be a new petrol-powered STI based on the latest WRX platform.

When the newWRX (which is scheduled to arrive in South Africa towards the middle of 2022) was revealed in September 2021, thoughts immediately turned to the seemingly inevitable STI version, which rumours suggested would retain its trademark towering rear wing but upgrade its peak power output to somewhere in the region of 300 kW. But now, citing the broader industry’s shift towards electrification, the company has made it explicitly clear such a model is not on the cards.

In a statement released via its North American division, Subaru said it was exploring how its performance cars would need to evolve to meet changing market requirements. It confirmed the STI – which the company bills as the “zenith of Subaru’s performance vehicles, exemplifying Subaru’s unique DNA and rally heritage” – would not be part of the latest WRX family.

“As the automotive marketplace continues to move towards electrification, Subaru is focused on how our future sports and performance cars should evolve to meet the needs of the changing marketplace and the regulations and requirements for greenhouse gasses, zero-emissions vehicles and corporate average fuel economy,” the statement read.

“As part of that effort, Subaru Corporation is exploring opportunities for the next-generation Subaru WRX STI, including electrification. In the meantime, a next-generation internal combustion engine WRX STI will not be produced based upon the new WRX platform,” the company said.

The Subaru Tecnica International (STI) division was established in 1988 as part of the firm’s involvement in rally racing. By 1992, the STI badge had made its way onto a production vehicle (a limited-production Legacy STI offered in Japan) for the first time, with the original WRX STI following in 1994.

The outgoing WRX STI is still on the market in South Africa, priced from R853 000 and powered by a turbocharged 2.5-litre, horizontally opposed four-cylinder petrol engine delivering 221 kW and 407 Nm to all four wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox. Like the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X, will this be the last cry of a rally-inspired icon?