Subaru Is Teasing a New Performance Model. Could It Be an STI?

Subaru teased a new performance model for this year’s Japan Mobility Show in October.

Subaru WRX Teaser Japan Mobility

Photo by: Subaru

Jeff Perez

By: Jeff Perez

Jun 2, 2025 at 3:15pm ET

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Will Subaru ever build another WRX STI? Will there ever be another hatchback? Those are questions Subie enthusiasts have been asking for years—since at least 2021, in fact, when the last STI left the US market.

There have been hints of new STI and STI-adjacent models since then, but nothing concrete. Now, Subaru is teasing us with a high-performance variant of the WRX that may or may not be the new performance model we've been waiting for.

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2024 Subaru WRX tS

Photo by: Tim Stevens / Motor1

During a media session surrounding the Super Taikyu series at Fuji Speedway, Subaru Executive Managing Director and Chief Technical Officer, Tetsuro Fujinuki, confirmed a new performance model for this year's Japan Mobility Show. As reported by Japan's Car Watch, this could be a new WRX or STI, but the details are still unconfirmed.

A lone teaser image previews the proposed performance model, showing a front-end clearly derived from the current WRX platform, but potentially with a longer roofline. Could it be a WRX hatchback or a new performance derivative of the Levorg? We'll have to wait to find out.

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Fujinuki said that this new model will make "good use of our current technological assets," and that, "we would like to create an even more cutting-edge car" down the line. The CTO reiterated that the company will provide even more details surrounding its future performance plans when the Japan Mobility Show opens its doors in October.

For now, buyers in the US will have to make do with the current WRX and WRX tS sedans, which make up to 271 horsepower at their most potent. There have been rumors of all-electric iterations of Subaru's STI performance models, but given the recent changing landscape, it's unclear if Subaru will stick to that plan.

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