If you’re a child of the ‘80s and the ‘90s, then you were witness to Subaru’s high-flying days in the World Rally Championship. Those sliding Imprezas left a strong impression to anyone who watch it take on rally stages, and Subaru remains synonymous with the sport, as well as performance cars.
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However, Subaru said that it won’t be making a gas-powered Subaru WRX STIs for the new generation. It’s sad news, indeed, but there is a glimmer of hope for Subaru fans out there. The Japanese automaker recently filed a trademark for STe. And yes, that likely stands for electric.
Purists might not like the idea of that, but if it’s one way to preserve the company’s sporting heritage, then it is what it is. Trademark was filed in Germany recently, and Subaru even has a badge for this seemingly new performance division or performance line. Of course, there are no additional details present, but the ‘e’ is pretty much used by every automaker to denote an electrified (or full electric) model.
But why didn’t Subaru make an STI out of the present WRX? According to the company, “As the automotive marketplace continues to move towards electrification, Subaru is focused on how our future sports and performance cars should evolve to meet the needs of the changing marketplace and the regulations and requirements for greenhouse gasses (GHG), [and] zero-emissions vehicles (ZEV).”
Subaru was also very firm on no more ICE-powered (internal combustion engine) STIs, saying “a next-generation internal combustion engine WRX STI will not be produced based upon the new WRX platform.”
However, Subaru is still open to the idea of building a new STI, and that’s where the STe badge comes in. Subaru says it will “exploring opportunities for the next-generation Subaru WRX STI, including electrification.”
If this pushes through, it will be controversial especially for the purists. Then again, if Subaru nails the hybrid STI, then perhaps it’s one step closer to more people embracing hybrid performance cars.
