In the automotive circle, there is a type of car called "emotional car".
They may be outstanding in performance, unique in technology, or beautiful in posture. And people who like them, even if they can't buy them or can't afford them, will be obsessed with admiration and madness.
Among the many "emotional" models, there are some Japanese cars that are particularly eye-catching, such as the Nissan GT-R, Toyota SUPRA, Mitsubishi EVO, Mazda RX-7, Subaru WRX STi, Honda Civic TYPE-R, etc., all of which have their own group of die-hard fans.
The image comes from the Internet
The reason why some people are fans of Japanese JDM models and do not pursue Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG, Audi RS7, BMW M3, Porsche 911 and other cars is because these Japanese cars have great modification potential, and after they are upgraded, they have the powerful performance of "playing pigs and eating tigers". And what Lamborghini, Ferrari, Porsche, they can all be ignored.
Taking the ninth generation of the Mitsubishi EVO as an example, the second-hand car ten years later is more expensive than the new car because of its huge modification space and amazing performance after the explosion. This type of car is an uncompromising "wealth management product".
"Easy over 10,000 revolutions", "zero hundred acceleration less than 2 seconds", "four-cylinder machine can be on 2,000 horses", these keywords are enough to make fans crazy and make opponents panic. Because of this, Mitsubishi's 4G63 four-cylinder machine has been enshrined.
However, due to the global trend of energy conservation and emission reduction, some emotional cars have to give way to new energy vehicles. Of course, there are also some models that have not survived the arrival of new energy electric vehicles, and they have become extinct for various reasons. Among them are the famous Mitsubishi EVO, Mazda RX-7 and so on.
Recently, it has been reported that another Japanese performance street car with the same name as the Mitsubishi EVO is about to leave us, that is, one of the three musketeers of the Japanese street, "Subaru WRX STi".
The image comes from the official map
According to Subaru's official sources, this generation of WRX STi will become the last generation of models, and the next generation of WRX platform will no longer produce fuel models, and the fuel version will be completely abandoned in the future.
That said, the WRX STi stayed forever in the eleventh generation. The Mitsubishi EVO stayed in the tenth generation, and the rotor engine stayed in the RX-8. In the future, only the Japanese Honda Civic Type-R will be left to lead the street.
The sentiment of the Subaru WRX STi
If the Mazda RX-7 is to use a rotor engine to pull feelings, Toyota SUPRA is a straight line acceleration to pull feelings, then what does the Subaru WRX STI use to pull feelings? Presumably, it is the "WRC World Rally Championship".
Subaru, while not a top performer in other auto races, excelled in the WRC. Subaru won three constructors' championships in 1995, 1996 and 1997, and three drivers' championships in 1995, 2001 and 2003, winning 47 games.
The famous racing drivers Colin McRae, Richard Burns and Pete Soburg were all former Subaru champion drivers.
The image comes from Autohome
In the 1993 New Zealand race, the famous driver Colin McRae won the first championship of subaru racing in the Lion RS racing car, setting a precedent for subaru racing team. Since then, the "555" logo on subaru's team has also been memorized.
However, due to the long body and lack of flexibility of the L&S Rs, the Subaru Impreza WRX model, which was launched in 1992, was used in the rally.
In the second year of the Impreza WRX, McRae helped subaru team win the third place in the 1993 WRC race, and since then, people have begun to have a "feeling" for the Subaru Impreza WRX model.
In 1994, the first generation of the Impreza WRX-STi version was unveiled, and the performance version specially modified by subaru's STi division made car fans even more obsessed. Since then, in addition to the blue Subaru car logo, people have become more obsessed with the pink "star marker".
Forged pistons, lightweight hydraulically assisted timing belt adjusters, competitive engine computers, intercooler cooling, and large exhaust pipes are all racing grades, which is also the charm of the STi version.
The first-generation Subaru Impreza WRX STi had 250 hp and a maximum torque of 315 Nm, and was soon remodeled to 275 hp. Since then, the pink logo and the "STi" logo have become the symbols of Subaru performance cars.
It is precisely because of the performance evolution of the STi version that the Subaru Impreza WRX STi model has become the main force at the WRC event. We were thrilled to see the Impreza WRX STi with the "STi" sticker on it, just like a Mercedes-Benz car with an AMG sticker.
Later, the EJ20 engine on the Subaru Impreza WRX STi also gradually became famous, and it was followed by fans like the Mitsubishi EVO's 4G63 engine, and it also became a classic in the engine.
In 2007, subaru Impreza also appeared hatchback version, although there is still an STi version, but the civilian version of the hatchback Impreza is only equipped with a 2.0L naturally aspirated horizontal opposing engine, 150 horsepower data performance makes many fans feel that the Impreza is low. The zero-hundred acceleration of more than 11 seconds has also made the name Impreza more and more unpopular.
Later, the Impreza and WRX models were separated, but it seemed too late, and fewer fans wanted to buy WRX STi.
Impreza and WRX, who are authentic, have confused everyone, and the real WRX STi is increasingly lacking in presence, which has also become the beginning of everyone's dilution of Subaru's rally feelings.
By 2009, Subaru, who had more than enough but was short of strength, announced his withdrawal from the WRC. At this point, the Subaru Impreza WRX STi also ended the legend of the rally, and "Rally Blue" became a memory in the hearts of fans.
Although racer Han Han later joined subaru in some races, the glory that was once on the WRC is long gone. Chinese car consumers are less obsessed with Subaru, and Han Han has not been able to drive Subaru's sales in China.
In addition, the manual transmission and the heavier clutch also made many people abandon the Subaru WRX STi. After all, in a congested urban area, driving a Subaru WRX STi is too tiring.
Later, because the Subaru WRX STi can arouse less and less rally feelings, the civilian version of the WRX STi is even more difficult to sell.
Until now, electric vehicles have made zero-hundred acceleration more and more simple. 300,000 domestic electric vehicles can also achieve a zero-hundred-speed acceleration performance of about 5 seconds, which makes many performance cars have no acceleration advantage, including the eleventh generation of Subaru WRX STi.
The decline in model popularity, the invasion of electric vehicles, and the fact that Subaru is getting farther and farther away from the WRC, fans' feelings for Subaru are also stuck before the 10th generation Impreza WRX STi.
However, when I heard the news that subaru WRX STi no longer produces fuel vehicles, fans, including me, still have a slight sadness, but this sadness is not because I can't buy WRX STi, but because I have one less memory of performance cars.
In today's world of luxury cars pulling down the threshold and electric cars invading madly, few people may really want to buy subaru WRX STi home, but we don't want to forget Subaru's brilliant moments on the WRC.
In fact, what we regret is not the Subaru WRX STi model, but the dilution of the past memory of the performance car. This memory actually has colors, it is "rally blue"; this memory has performance, it is the EJ20 horizontal opposed engine and the left and right symmetry full-time four-wheel drive; this memory has drivers, it is McRae, Soburg...
But in any case, the past will eventually pass. The Subaru WRX STi will be a great memory for fans like the Mitsubishi EVO, and it will also become a collection hidden in the garage by some fans.