More Power Coming to the Subaru WRX STI for 2019?

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

The popularity of the Subaru WRX and its larger-displacement STI sibling rival that of free vape coils and Monster energy drinks at a Millennial blogging event. Despite its growing age, owners and would-be buyers seem content with Subaru’s driver-focused all-wheel-drive sedan. There’s plenty of goodwill with this crowd.

As the previous-generation Impreza-based model awaits a new platform and body, it looks like buyers of the 2019 WRX STI stand to gain something that was available only in very limited numbers for 2018. More power.

Not a lot, mind you, but five ponies nonetheless.

A 2019 model year VIN decoder document sent to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration by North American Subaru shows a power increase for the turbocharged 2.5-liter boxer four. The document, dated April 11th, shows the mill’s output at 310 horsepower — a 5 hp increase from previous models. (The turbo 2.0-liter boxer engine found in the WRX remains at 268 hp.)

The 2019 STI’s output is the same as the limited edition STI Type RA, a vehicle announced on April 2nd to mark the 30th anniversary of motorsports subsidiary and performance shop Subaru Tecnica International (STI). Only 500 Type RAs were allocated to the U.S. for the 2018 model year.

Besides pricey features like a carbon fiber roof, Bilstein shocks, and a modified multi-mode vehicle dynamics control system (VDS), the Type RA benefitted from a high-flow exhaust, larger intake, and retuned engine control unit (ECU) for slightly greater top-end oomph. Torque remained the same at 290 lb-ft, however.

Subaru didn’t immediately respond to our query; we’ll update this post when we hear back.

(Update: In an email to TTAC, Dominick Infante, product communications manager for Subaru of America, said it’s “too early for us to comment” on the matter.)

[Image: Subaru]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

More by Steph Willems

Comments
Join the conversation
3 of 16 comments
  • CombiCoupe99 CombiCoupe99 on Apr 11, 2018

    I wish they made this car for adults. I always wanted one, but don't want that "boy racer" stink.

  • Stuntmonkey Stuntmonkey on Apr 12, 2018

    The WRX is the one for adults, the STI is for the vape crowd. As Regular Car Reviews puts it, it's a fast Corolla now. (And being in the older demo, I'm fine with that.)

  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
  • Jalop1991 what, no Turbo trim?
Next