The orphans of the old era are ultimately inferior to the rules of the new era.
On March 11, Subaru North America announced that subaru would not build a new WRX STI based on the new WRX, as the market is shifting to electrification and emissions and fuel consumption requirements are becoming more stringent in all regions of the world.
At this point, it can be said that WRX STI has finally stepped off the stage of history.
Although the official also said that it is exploring the shape of the next generation of WRX STI, from the official announcement, even if the WRX STI returns, it is unlikely to be a pure internal combustion engine version. The biggest possibility is that the new generation of AMG C63 is equipped with a plug-in hybrid system, which improves power output while reducing fuel consumption and emissions through electrification technology.
In fact, in the strict sense, WRX is not an independent car series, and Mitsubishi's EVO is based on the brand's ordinary models, and the Mitsubishi EVO is based on the ordinary models within the brand, which is also where the Japanese brand is in line.
At that time, most of the Japanese car companies were enthusiastic about all kinds of events, and Subaru was no exception. The first generation of WRX, to be precise, should be called imprehensive WRX, because the WRX at this time was built on impreza. WRX, on the other hand, is short for World Rally Experimental, which literally translates to "World Rally Experiment.". As the name suggests, this is subaru's version for rally racing, and the housekeeper's horizontally opposed engine all-wheel drive system will certainly be mounted on it.
They have all built cars for the world rally, and it seems that it is impossible to win again. From 1995 to 1997, Subaru won the WRC World Rally for three consecutive years, which also made the Subaru WRX famous.
At that time, the Impreza had a variety of forms, the chassis codenamed GC sedan, the chassis code GF hatchback model, the Imprender WRX also had a corresponding model, and even in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, Subaru also launched several limited two-door coupe versions.
The familiar WRX STI was introduced in 1994, when Subaru launched the first WRX STI model in Japan, with 100 units per month from February 1994, equipped with a 250-horsepower EJ20 horizontally opposed turbocharged engine, with a specially tuned transmission and suspension. By the way, STI is an acronym for Subaru Tecnica International, which stands for stronger performance, car manufacturing technology and R&D innovation, and it is also the concept of "the driver is at the heart of everything".
The second-generation WRX was introduced between 2000 and 2007, and Subaru introduced a new generation of Impreza to the Japanese market in August 2008, with a 4 cm increase in body width for the sedan version and 0.5 cm for the travel model. The second generation of WRX is also based on the Impreza at this time, the most data can be measured by the upgrade is the engine part, WRX and WRX STI are equipped with 2.0T and 2.5T engines respectively (the STI in the Japanese market is equipped with 2.0T engines, but the performance is stronger), and the Impreza is equipped with 4 naturally aspirated engines, with displacement from 1.5L to 2.5L, and the power output gap is quite obvious.
Of course, at that time, Subaru, can not be satisfied with the basic model, based on the WRX STI various limited editions / upgrades have also been created, in 2002, Subaru launched S202, to the WRX STI installed an upgraded version of the intake and exhaust system, the engine power output can be adjusted, at 6400 rpm can output the maximum 235kW power, and the maximum torque is also increased to 384N·m, while the body weight is also reduced to 1.33 tons.
In 2004, Subaru introduced the S203 version, limited to 555 units, developed with the help of Subaru team driver Petter Solberg. Compared with the S202, it is equipped with a larger turbocharger, and although the engine power remains unchanged at 235 kW, the maximum torque is increased to 422N·m, which is a significant improvement.
The S204 was produced in 2005 and is limited to 600 units. Also equipped with larger turbochargers, and the engines are assembled by hand. Although the engine power remained unchanged, the maximum torque was increased to 432N·m, but the weight of the body was also increased to 1.45 tons.
On April 2, 2007, Subaru exhibited the third generation impreza and impreza WRX at the then New York Auto Show, and from the third generation model onwards, Subaru deliberately made the "WRX" independent, directly using the name WRX in most markets.
Interestingly, at that time, the market was not very satisfied with the suspension of the third-generation WRX, and felt that the suspension was too soft. In the redesigned model released in 2009, Subaru made several upgrades, including the engine. After replacing the original D04 turbocharger with the IHI VF52, the EJ255 engine power was increased to 198 kW, the maximum torque was 331 N·m, and the acceleration time from 0 to 60 mph (about 96 km/ h) was 4.7 seconds.
The third-generation WRX STI debuted at the Tokyo Motor Show in October 2007, with only a sedan version and a hatchback version added in 2008. Like the WRX, Subaru prefers to refer to the car as the "Subaru WRX STI" rather than the previous "Impreza WRX STI."
This generation of STI, the Japanese market is still equipped with 2.0T engines, rather than 2.5T engines in other markets, but the performance is not weak. The Japanese STI is equipped with an EJ207 engine and is equipped with a twin-scroll turbocharger with a maximum power of 227 kW and a maximum torque of 422 N·m. The EJ257 engine for other markets is equipped with a single-scroll VF48 turbocharger with a maximum power of 221 kW and a maximum torque of 407 N·m.
In 2010, Subaru introduced a facelift of the STI. In addition to the new front bumper, the suspension was adjusted with stiffer springs, thicker anti-tilt bars and a ball head bushing on the front hem arm. Coupled with wider tires, the new model handles better.
This generation of STI also does not lack limited edition models. For example, the 20th anniversary edition of the WRX STI, launched in the Japanese market in 2008, has a hatchback shape and is limited to 300 units. In addition to the newly adjusted suspension and thicker anti-tilt bars, there are design elements such as 18-inch aluminum wheels, a white body black spoiler, a Recaro leather seat with red stitching, and a commemorative plaque on the center console.
The WRX STI spec C, launched in 2009, is also for the Japanese market and is limited to 900 units. Subaru modified the ball bearings on the turbocharger to reduce friction, while installing an intercooled water jet and the ECU was tuned for better power response. At the same time, the body beams, suspension, steering, etc. are targeted optimization, improving the rigidity of the body and obtaining better handling. To make matters worse, Subaru also installed an aluminum hood, thinner window glass and lighter batteries to reduce the weight of the car.
In addition to these two special edition models, there are also WRX STI R205, WRX STI tS, WRX STI A-Line tS, WRX STI STI S206 and other models.
In 2011, the fourth generation of impreza arrived as scheduled, but the consumption atmosphere at this time has been very different, even the United States, which has extremely low oil prices, has begun to move towards the road of "energy conservation and environmental protection". The fourth-generation WRX and WRX STI that fans dreamed of were not unveiled at the same time, and the gap in the market continued to be filled by the third-generation WRX until 2014, when Subaru released the fourth-generation WRX.
That is, from the fourth generation, Subaru officially made the WRX independent, and there was no longer an Impreza font name in the model name. At the same time, starting with this generation of WRX, Subaru no longer produces a wagon version, even though the station wagon version accounts for 50% of the series' sales in the United States. Fortunately, Subaru did not stop the hatchback version, which is still a good thing for consumers who do not like the shape of the sedan.
Incidentally, this generation of WRX did not use the EJ series engine, but switched to the environmental protection of the FA series engine. However, the WRX STI still uses the EJ series engine, the Japanese market is the 2.0T EJ207, and the other markets are the 2.5T EJ257 engine.
In 2019, Subaru launched the WRX STI EJ20 Final Edition, which, as you can tell from the name, is a special edition to commemorate the discontinuation of the EJ20 engine.
But what I didn't expect was that this was the masterpiece of the WRX STI.
In 2021, the fifth generation of WRX was released, based on the SGP platform. The new car has a lower center of gravity, and the body's torsional stiffness is 28% higher than before, and the stiffness of the suspension connection point is also 75%.
The 2.4T horizontally opposed engine has a maximum power of 202 kW and a maximum torque of 349 N·m. The drivetrain is mated to a 6-speed manual transmission or an 8-speed CVT continuously variable transmission, and is equipped with a full-time four-wheel drive system with active torque vectoring.
This is a promising generation, and if you build a real STI version on this basis (the current STI is more like Audi's S-line and Volkswagen's R-line), it is undoubtedly a top-notch specialty.
But with a paper announcement from Subaru, the fans' STI dreams were shattered.
In fact, this is all possible, especially in China, the world's largest single market for car sales, which has also joined the array of high-fuel consumption and high-emission models, and the world's friendliness to this type of performance car is quite low.
On the contrary, the new energy market has become a fragrant food, whether it is the US market or the Chinese market, new energy is developing rapidly, leaving less and less space for traditional internal combustion engine performance vehicles.
Not only that, the manual gear preferred by car players has gradually disappeared in the tide of the times, in addition to commercial vehicles, driving schools, low-cost car purchases and other fields, few people will now actively choose manual models. If new energy continues to develop, the concept of "gearbox" may also be removed in the future.
The back wave of the Yangtze River pushes the front wave, and the front wave dies on the beach. At our age, we have witnessed the glory of the internal combustion engine, but our descendants may only be familiar with the "hissing" sound of electric vehicles.