Subaru Is Cooking Up A 2.4 400bhp Boxer, A45 2.0 Used As Benchmark

The Subaru WRX STI is a car that’s failed to move with the times. Once packing the kind of firepower that worry the average Porsche 911 owner, the flagship fast Scooby isn’t the giant killer it once was and has even been caught up (in many cases overhauled) by mere hot hatches. For shame!

This clearly hasn’t been lost on Subaru, however. According to Forbes, the Japanese manufacturer has benchmarked its latest and greatest boxer engine against the mighty Mercedes-AMG M139 416bhp inline-four, which is used in the A45 S.

The ‘FA24’ will be a 2.4-litre, circa-400bhp monster which will also kick out a muscular 361lb ft of torque. In terms of power, that’s an increase of over a third. The hot hatch world won’t know what’s hit it.

As always, this flat-four will be hooked up to a permanent all-wheel drive system, marking the Subaru out against rivals which tend to favour part-time setups. Off-the-line pace will be suitably brisk - expect a 0-62mph time starting with the number four.

It’s been suggested before that the next WRX STI will take styling inspiration from the wild Viziv Performance STI concept, which is just fine by us. We won’t be seeing it for a while yet, however - the reveal is unlikely to happen before 2021.