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Teaser videos led Subaru fans to believe the WRX STI performance car was about to return in its full form, but it was not to be – and they're not pleased.
A new special edition of the Subaru WRX sports sedan – with no more power, nor a rear wing – has drawn backlash from fans hoping for a genuine revival of the iconic WRX STI performance flagship.
Teasers released by Subaru in the lead-up to the recent Tokyo Auto Salon car show previewed a new WRX variant with STI 'cherry red' accents, STI badges, and a manual transmission.
Despite Subaru never confirming the car's identity – nor that it would be sold outside of the Japanese market – many fans on social media interpreted it as a rebirth of the WRX STI, a variant confirmed in 2022 not to return with the latest WRX generation.
But, as forecast by some more cynical fans, the vehicle revealed by Subaru is little more than a Japanese-market version of the WRX tS Spec B sold in Australia, with a few more STI badges, and no rear wing.
Known as the WRX STI Sport# – short for 'Sport Sharp' – it adds the same Brembo brakes, adaptive suspension, 19-inch wheels, sticky Bridgestone tyres, and Ultrasuede seats that mark out the tS Spec B.
It has the same 202kW power output from the regular WRX's 2.4-litre turbocharged engine – and it actually has less torque, at 350Nm vs 375Nm, while its extra body stiffening is common with items from the Australian Subaru accessory catalogue.
However, signature features of the last WRX STI, such as a driver-controlled centre differential – let alone a power boost, or a tall rear wing that even the Spec B gets – are absent.
The STI Sport# is still significant in Japan, as it marks the return of the six-speed manual to the WRX range in the country, last offered on the WRX STI there in 2019, as the latest WRX is CVT auto-only.
Subaru fans – mostly outside of the only market where the STI Sport# edition will be sold, Japan – have been left unimpressed on social media.
"That was the surprise?? Let’s hope [it] is a joke," one user commented under Subaru Japan's Instagram video of the new variant.
"Ahh, a WRX tS but for the JDM market, how "cool"," said another fan, while the special edition's exhaust, shared with the regular WRX, led a commenter to remark that it "sounds[s] like my Xbox".
Facebook comments were no more complimentary, ranging from "lololol it’s just a manual VB" – referencing the current WRX's model code, VB – to "you guys over at Subaru really know how to drop the ball."
"Damn you don’t listen to a flipping thing anyone asks for, do you?" said another commenter, adding: "... what a joke. To think I actually was considering getting another Subie when I thought the STI was coming back."
Not every commenter led themselves to believe the WRX STI was on the verge of a comeback.
"It was announced that this reveal would be for the Japanese market only," said one Instagram user.
"The Subaru community needs to read a bit more and react a lot less. I was completely unsure why everyone was making rumor videos when it was announced and stated Japanese only."
The WRX STI Sport# on display at the Tokyo Auto Salon is marketed as a "prototype", but Subaru says the model will enter production in "limited quantities" for the Japanese market in the northern spring of 2026 (March to May).
Australian customers hoping to access its performance can purchase the tS Spec B for $61,490 plus on-road costs, which has the same engine, transmission, differential, suspension, steering, brakes, and tyres.
Differences are limited to a tall STI-like rear wing in place of the Sport# variant's black rear lip.
Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
