Words: Andrew Sluys
Published 13 January 2026
Subaru has taken the covers off the highly anticipated WRX STI Sport at the 2026 Tokyo Auto Salon.
Though some had high hopes for a WRX STI reminiscent of what we’ve seen previously from the Japanese-brand performance wise, the final product seems far from it.
Instead, it seems that Subaru took the formula for the WRX tS Spec B sold in New Zealand and Australia, and re-skinned it for the Japanese market.
With this in mind, it gets a 2.4-litre turbocharged boxer engine making 202kW and 350Nm of torque.
Like the Spec B, it gets a six-speed manual transmission which sends power to all four wheels through Subaru’s symmetrical all-wheel drive system.
This is probably the biggest news for Subaru fans in its homeland, as a manual transmission hasn’t been offered with the WRX for seven years.
Other mechanical upgrades that match that of the Spec B include adaptive dampers, Brembo brakes, and a limited-slip differential.
And while the 19-inch alloy wheels carry over, the STI Sport misses out on the larger than life rear wing found on the boot of the Spec B.
As expected, Subaru fans were left disappointed once again by this STI Sport prototype, as it doesn’t live up to the STI heritage Subaru built for itself through the homologated WRX models.
