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The Subaru Forester STI Sport shows that the brand is not giving up on sporty products, even if the performance-focused WRX STI is dead. This special Japanese edition comes with a revised suspension and improved styling touches to create a more attractive crossover.
The main mechanical change for this Forester edition is the addition of STI-tuned dampers. It also gets a set of 18-inch wheels in dark gray and 225/55 all-season tires.
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The tweaked exterior has black accents to surround the fog lamps, bumper trim at both ends, and side sills. There is an STI badge on the grille and on the hatchback. Buyers can order bodies in Crystal White Pearl, Magnetite Gray Metallic, Ice Silver Metallic, and Crystal Black Silica
Inside, this edition gets a two-tone upholstery with Nappa leather in Black and Bourdeaux red. The STI badge is on the seat headrest. There’s also red contrast stitching throughout the cabin. Instruments include the STI branding on the tachometers and red accents for both gauges.
The Forester STI Sport exclusively comes with a turbocharged 1.8-liter four-cylinder boxer engine that produces 175 horsepower (130 kilowatts) and 221 pound-feet (300 Newton-meters) of torque. The only gearbox available is a CVT which sends power to the all-wheel-drive system.
The Forester STI Sport will go on sale in Japan later this summer. The company hasn’t announced pricing for the special edition yet.
Subaru is shutting down the WRX STI due to rapidly changing emissions regulations. While it is possible to build a model, the vehicle will only be marketable for a short period of time.
Instead, it looks like electrification is the future of performance at Subaru. At the 2022 Tokyo Auto Salon, the track-focused STI E-RA Concept debuts. The vehicle has an electric motor that drives each wheel with a total output of 1,073 horsepower (800 kilowatts). A 60 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack provides energy for the powertrain. Subie said his goal was to go to the Nürburgring and spin the 6min-40s lap, but that hasn’t happened yet.
The Soltera STI debuted at the same event as a performance-focused version of the brand’s electric crossover. So far, there is no sign of a production version. Although, Toyota is allegedly planning a sporty bZ4X variant, so it’s possible that Subaru will also have such a variant.
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