A generation of Subaru loyalists learned to trust the company implicitly. They knew it produced the kind of car they craved, with those turbo boxer engines, manual transmissions, huge wings, rally attitude, and all-wheel drive. They loved that their WRX STIs felt pleasingly rough even when brand new, and they felt that this STI journey would go on forever.
But that trust came tumbling down in March 2022 when Subaru announced it would no longer build an internal combustion STI on the next-generation platform. Many enthusiasts did not see this announcement coming, but if they looked more closely, they might have noticed a growing number of warning signs. Through the years, Subaru wasn’t developing the theme as aggressively as it once had and, in effect, it was slowly but surely boxing this boxer in.
The STI’s Final Years Still Looked Like Business As Usual To Some
2015 Subaru WRX STI sideSubaru
2015-2022 Subaru WRX STI
Engine
2.5-liter turbocharged/intercooled EJ257 flat-four
Transmission
Six-speed manual
Drivetrain
Symmetrical all-wheel drive
Power
305–310 hp
Torque
290 lb-ft
Subaru may have been gradually preparing for the WRX STI’s demise for several years, even though the car still felt authentic almost until the end. In the 2015 version, enthusiasts would get a 2.5-liter turbo boxer engine, a six-speed manual transmission, driver-controlled center differential all-wheel drive, proper brakes, and a body that looked far more purposeful than the regular WRX. Still, this car contained a clue about what was to come, and it retained the older EJ257 engine while the standard WRX moved on to a newer solution.
The ordinary WRX now had an FA-series 2.0-liter direct injection turbo engine, but Subaru claimed that the older unit in the STI was there to protect its specific identity. The STI did have 305 hp and 290 lb-ft of torque, which were still strong numbers, even if they weren’t transformative. And while many believed Subaru’s stated reasons for retaining that engine type, a few wondered whether the company was simply buying time.
The EJ257 Became A Legend That Subaru Could No Longer Stretch
2015 Subaru WRX STI front quarterSubaru
Most buyers still loved the EJ257, and it clearly gave the US market STI its signature character. But it was also almost maxed out. Every meaningful improvement would now come at a cost for this old-school motor, and as a result, Subaru retained the sequential multi-port fuel injection system rather than the newer direct injection setup. Factors like that would start to matter in a world of tightening greenhouse gas rules and zero-emission vehicle mandates.
As time went by, Subaru made some rudimentary improvements to improve the engine, late in the generation. For 2019, the STI gained 5 hp while retaining the torque figure, and it gained a new air intake, high-flow exhaust, and stronger pistons. This was a carefully managed upgrade within limited headroom, and it helped to keep the magic alive, but the road ahead was becoming increasingly narrow for the STI.
The VA Chassis Preserved The Formula Rather Than Re-Imagining It
2015 Subaru WRX STI drivetrainSubaru
Some critics panned the 2015-2022 generation WRX STI and preferred earlier iterations, but this generation was still perfectly solid. It had real steering precision, a serious drivetrain, bags of traction, and a sense of purpose that other performance cars could only envy.
Subaru made some platform updates along the way, including suspension tuning, stronger braking hardware, and those 2019 engine changes, but there was a limit to what the company could do. Enthusiasts still loved the formula, but time was standing still. It was clearly time for Subaru to create a modernized performance flagship with a genuinely new powertrain and architecture.
In 2022, Subaru caught up, debuting the WRX on its Subaru Global Platform. According to the company, this brought a 28% increase in overall torsional rigidity and a 75% increase in suspension mounting point rigidity. But more importantly, this should have been the bridge for the STI, so that it could fully take advantage of a stiffer platform and a newer engine family. And while this new platform was the modern answer to handling ride refinement and regulatory development, STI wouldn’t figure in the conversation. Sadly, by the time Subaru introduced a theoretically perfect platform, the business case for a full-ICE STI was too weak.
The FA24 Looked Like The Successor Engine Until It Wasn’t
FA24 boxer engine in 2026 Subaru WRXSubaru of America
Many forward-thinking fans were looking forward to the new FA24 boxer engine to see what it could produce in STI form. After all, this 2.4-liter unit made 271 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque in standard WRX guise, and that was surely a great starting point. Those fans rubbed their hands with glee thinking about a higher-output STI with more boost, stronger internals, upgraded cooling, and a serious manual gearbox. To them, the FA24 could provide a bridge between the EJ era and the halcyon days ahead.
However, Subaru firmly closed that door with its March 2022 statement. It said that it was looking at opportunities for the next-generation STI and that these may include electrification, but it confirmed that it would not produce a next-generation ICE WRX STI on this exciting new WRX platform.
A Sales Slide And A Strategy Shift Made The End Inevitable
2015 Subaru WRX STI interior frontSubaru
From a big-picture perspective, the demise of the STI was more than just an internal technical decision. US WRX and STI sales had been on a steady decline from 31,358 units in 2017, to 28,730 in 2018 and 21,838 in 2019. At the same time, competitors were not standing still and were providing serious – and often better – opposition. For example, Ford’s Focus RS had a modern 2.3-liter turbo engine that turned out 350 hp and 350 lb-ft. The Honda Civic Type R also came to US shores with its 2.0-liter direct injection turbo, 306 hp and 295 lb-ft.
Amid this onslaught, the differences were starting to show. A CarBuzz review summed this up by saying that “to love this car, you have to be a serious Subaru fan. There are plenty of sacrifices you have to make to live with it — sacrifices that you don’t have to make if you buy (a Golf R or Civic Type R)”.
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The STI could still defend itself against those rivals, but it no longer owned the numbers, and its technology story did not present the same kind of argument as cleanly as it once had. At boardroom level, Subaru was already talking about a future where at least 40% of its global sales would be BEV or hybrid by 2030. This made it increasingly hard to defend the STI internally as a low-volume, manual-only, and fuel-hungry performance sedan.
Subaru Lost Something When The STI Went Away
2015 Subaru WRX STI stickSubaru
Even though Subaru still sold the WRX and was essentially just removing a trim label, there was far more to the story. Yes, the company would bring back pieces of the old formula, like manual availability, Brembo brakes, and even STI-tuned components for later WRX editions, but it just wasn’t the same. The older STI was far more than just a fast WRX and it was a concentrated expression of what the company could do when it came to its rally-bred road car philosophies.
Some people who bought earlier STIs might later go on to buy an Outback, Forester, or Crosstrek because they knew that Subaru was something more interesting than just an all-wheel-drive manufacturer.
Looking forward, Subaru may yet revive the STI in some way, even if that does involve a fully electric version. And while this may please some, it probably won’t do much for many others, who will remember the old STI times longingly.
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Still, there’s no doubt that the warning signs predicting the end of the STI were visible. Its aging EJ257, that cautious 2019 update, and particularly the long-running chassis saga, all told a part of the story. The sales decline pointed in the same direction, and at the end of the day, the Subaru board’s decision was entirely predictable.
So, in 2022, the WRX STI was involved in a serious collision involving passion and reality. Its maker knew that the car had a loyal following and a very strong identity in the affordable performance market, but it also knew it had to move with the times. It would have had to modernize this special STI without somehow changing what people loved about it, and in the end, the entire proposition simply did not work.
While Subaru made that fatal announcement in 2022, the decision had been coming for years. And for enthusiasts, many of those warning signs had been hiding in plain sight.
Sources: Subaru, Honda, Ford.
