This is going to impact Subaru's performance greatly. Recently, it appears Subaru has also been working on a hybrid WRX STI. Now won't that be different?
Electricity: The Future
This new plug in hybrid will be coming to North America. There is no denying the fact that electricity is the future of automobiles. They want this new vehicle of theirs to meet the zero emission vehicle standards in California which are going to come into effect in 2018. This plug in version is going to be released in an existing model though and not in a brand new vehicle. Even though the first plugin hybrid is not going to be a WRX STI, the technology could be in the works for this performance sedan too.
New Powertrain
There is already a new powertrain developed by Subaru which uses a modified version of the 2.0 L turbo charged BOXER engine and combines it with an electric motor which is used in the Impreza Sport that is sold exclusively in Japan.
Plug in WRX STI?
Subaru is also supposed to be working on a plugin version of the WRX STI but it is not going to be shown to the world before the Tokyo Motor Show of 2018. They even said it was going to come with a brand new AWD system which has an electric motor on the rear axle. This is purely speculation at this point though. The car is supposed to have 6 speeds, double clutch gearbox, and will offer 322 hp as compared to the current model which offers 305 hp. It is believed that this new STI is going to remain a sedan when released in 2017.
This four dour is going to share its underpinnings with the Subaru Impreza which will help it make the move to the new modular platforms at Subaru. This standard hybrid may just be the beginning as far as the electrification of the STI is concerned.
A new hybrid STI will certainly be exciting but until there is some hard evidence of this actually happening it is nothing but a rumor. A few years ago, there were reports regarding a diesel version of the cars, but that never happened. The WRX was also rumored to have an electric turbo at one point.
Where's Subaru Headed
The company has just posted a 5th consecutive year of record sales in the US and is expecting to sell more than 600,000 units before 2015 is out. Just think how impressive these numbers would be if America’s economy was still not in a recession? This would give them a rise of 8% when compared to 2014.
While many people may not agree with the idea of not offering a manual transmission on the STI for the first time ever, Subaru is confident that they will be able to win over many more fans than they will lose.
This may be a very risky move on their part but they have done the research and are confident that their decision is sensible and prudent. So will we see a new STI hybrid on US streets in 2018? No one really knows for sure.
