In lots of spaces, including this one, Subaru was feted for bringing a new generation of its most impressively fast vehicle, the WRX STI, to market for 2021 along with copious turbocharged – which necessarily means gasoline-burning – performance horsepower. Likely to the alarm of many Subiephiles, Subaru of America disclosed this week that this current generation of petroleum-fueled STI performance cars will be the last, as Subaru pivots toward an electric future a bit more slowly than some of its bigger competition from Japan has managed up to this point.
In a statement released from its corporate headquarters in Camden, New Jersey, Subaru of America said that anticipated limits on fuel consumption and emissions, especially of the greenhouse variety, has led it to determine that a next-generation, internal combustion engine WRX STI will not be produced based upon the new WRX platform. Subaru is in the early stages of reimagining the radical performance STI as an electric car, or at least an electrically assisted one, as it begins its launch of the Solterra EV that it jointly designed with Toyota, and is built on a new-generation EV-capable platform. As Subaru explained, “The Subaru WRX STI and the STI brand represent the zenith of Subaru’s performance vehicles exemplifying Subaru’s unique DNA and rally heritage. As we look to the future, we also look forward to incorporating the essence of STI into our next generation of vehicles.”
Jim Donnelly On Wheels 