From the Could 2023 Subject of Automotive and Driver.
The STI badge has been conspicuously absent from Subaru‘s lineup ever because the newest WRX hit the scene, however relaxation assured, this high-performance nameplate is not gone for good. Subaru says it is engaged on some form of electrified model of the highest WRX, which may imply a hybrid or battery-electric powertrain. This probably will not arrive till the present technology of the gas-powered WRX runs its course. That mannequin could final till late within the decade, so we’re in for a protracted wait.
All of Subaru’s hybrid and EV efforts have to this point been tied in with Toyota, because the Crosstrek plug-in hybrid used parts from the Prius, and the Solterra electrical SUV is a twin to Toyota’s bZ4X. We may see this collaboration proceed to the next-gen WRX and WRX STI, because the Solterra’s platform, referred to as e-Subaru International Platform, was developed with Toyota.
It can want important modifications to work for a high-performance automobile like a WRX STI, as we would anticipate a minimum of 400 horsepower from a dual-motor all-wheel-drive setup—round double what probably the most highly effective Solterra presents. We additionally assume the subsequent WRX will stray even farther from its Impreza roots, and we would like to see the hatchback physique fashion return. To distinguish the WRX STI’s all-wheel-drive system from different dual-motor EVs, Subaru may even probably provide you with some particular software program, probably with torque vectoring. And naturally, the large query is whether or not loyalists will settle for a WRX STI with out the distinctive blat of a turbocharged flat-four.
Senior Editor
Regardless of being raised on a gradual weight-reduction plan of base-model Hondas and Toyotas—or maybe due to it—Joey Capparella nonetheless cultivated an obsession for the automotive business all through his childhood in Nashville, Tennessee. He discovered a option to write about automobiles for the varsity newspaper throughout his faculty years at Rice College, which finally led him to maneuver to Ann Arbor, Michigan, for his first skilled auto-writing gig at Car Journal. He has been a part of the Automotive and Driver crew since 2016 and now lives in New York Metropolis.
