New Subaru WRX STI to Deploy Hybrid Technology?
In an effort to reduce emissions, Subaru is putting everything on the table in terms of its performance-focused WRX STI.
Keeping in mind your humble author is directly translating an interview given to a Dutch website (an activity which requires all of his brainpower), it seems there’s more than a passing chance that the next WRX STI will deploy some sort of hybrid technology in a bid to maintain its performance creds.
In a statement first appearing on AutoRAI, David Dello Stritto, who is listed on LinkedIn and other sources as General Manager of Sales, Marketing, & PR for Subaru Europe, is quoted as saying:
“CO2 emissions are becoming increasingly important and the current 2.5-liter four-cylinder turbo boxer engine simply can not continue to be used in the future. We do not say goodbye to the WRX STI, the car belongs to Subaru, but there will be a period where we will temporarily not run WRX STI.”
Okay, then. This could mean one of many things, not the least of which is the Subaru faithful may have to do without their halo car for an undetermined amount of time while the Exploding Galaxy figures out how to make enough power to placate their fans without harming any polar bears.
With the words “the 2.5-liter four-cylinder turbo boxer engine simply can not continue to be used in the future” ringing in one’s ears, it is more than plausible to imagine a downsized and boosted gasoline-powered engine powering the front wheels of the next WRX STI, while an electric motor (or two) fills in the blanks at the rear wheels.
The current STI Rexy (I’m using that term because Corey Lewis loves it so much) is powered by a 2.5-liter turbocharged boxer four, good for 305 horsepower funnelled through all four wheels. Don’t forget that Subaru displayed the Viziv Concept at this year’s Tokyo Auto Show, showing what may be the styling direction for the next WRX.
Subaru does not currently have a plug-in hybrid in its lineup but one is rumoured to be slated for production by the 2020 calendar year. It will surely debut as a mainstream car. If the gearheads in the STI program are permitted to get their hands on it and fettle the powertrain, it could prove to be just the ticket for the next WRX STI. After all, it’s not as if hybrid powertrains and gonzo levels of performance are mutually exclusive concepts.
[Image: Subaru]
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Having spent 30 seconds inputting that web page URL into Google Translate, I can say that a lot of what appears in this post is a glorious flight of the imagination on the hybrid front, not dissimilar from the guess about outside component supplier problems at Tesla, when it is outside suppliers of production line systems that are the main problem there. So, if one can speak out of one's left ear with impunity, I predict that the next STI will have a souped-up version of the 2.4 turbo being prepared for the Subaru Schoolbus and Dog Kennel Transporter Ascent, due out next Spring. "However, this does not mean that the WRX STI comes with an alternative powertrain, but Subaru emphasizes that everything is being investigated. David adds: "There will be a new WRX STI, but that takes time."
Hear, hear. Subaru has been c**k-teasing hybrids for years and years. Aside from the mild hybrid Crosstrek, it's been all talk, no action.