A New Subaru WRX STI Might Be Finally, Properly Happening

It’s been nearly five years since the end of Subaru WRX STI production, bringing down the curtain on over a quarter of a century of mad rally-bred saloons with burbly flat-four soundtracks. Since then, some markets – but not Europe – have been able to get a new-generation semi-skimmed WRX, and the STI badge has appeared on various, mostly JDM special editions, very few of which have brought much in the way of actual extra performance to the table.

Finally, though, Subaru is teasing something new from the STI brand, and it looks a bit more promising. It got our hopes at last autumn’s Tokyo Motor Show with the debut of not one but two STI concepts – one electric, and the other with a resolutely old-school turbo boxer four setup – but it looks like the Tokyo Show’s more enthusiast-geared sibling, the Tokyo Auto Salon, will play host to the debut of something a lot closer to reality when it kicks off on 9 January.

On its Japanese Instagram account, Subaru has posted a brief clip of what looks like a current-shape WRX but adorned with STI badges and, if we’re not mistaken, a big ol’ rear wing, just like in the good old days of the Impreza STI. A full reveal is then teased for 9 January.

Subaru’s also put out a press release detailing its stall at the Auto Salon, which is set to have a heavy STI theme. There are STI editions of the existing WRX, Levorg estate and Impreza hatch, all of which are little more than styling packages, but the rendering of the stand also shows a mystery car front and centre. Behind that is a grainy image of a hitherto-unseen variant of the current WRX, potentially showing this mystery car.

Of course, this is far from the first time we’ve gotten excited about a possible revival of the WRX STI over the last few years, and that excitement has more often than not resulted in disappointment. That came to a head with last year’s WRX S210 STI, which actually bore the STI name and gained more power than the standard WRX, but still had less shove than the old WRX STI and was saddled with a CVT gearbox.

This, though, feels like something a lot more promising, and we don’t have long to wait to find out more. Unfortunately, even if this is a fully-blown return of the WRX STI, the odds of it coming to Europe seem slim. Even if the appetite is undoubtedly there from UK customers for its comeback, ever-tougher emissions rules mean Subaru now only sells hybrids and EVs here. Sigh.