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Subaru WRX STI: Myth from the blue and gold rally era!

Reading time 4 Min.

Subaru WRX STI: Myth from the blue and gold rally era!

Six rally world championship titles, race wins and track records in various motorsport disciplines as well as over 25 years of history - these are just a few of the impressive facts about the Subaru WRX STI. The spectacular and most powerful version of the Impreza celebrated its European premiere at the IAA 20 years ago. Even the legendary type abbreviation WRX STI (WRX stands for World Rally Cross or World Rally eXperimental, STI for the motorsport division Subaru Tecnica International) indicates the origin and mission of the versatile, talented high-performance athlete. It made its debut in January 1994 in Japan as the top model of the compact Subaru Impreza. In the previous year he had already earned his first spurs in sports clothing at the World Rally Championship and was now heading for the world title, which he won just a year later.

WRX STI with 2,0 liter turbo boxer

The street version of the first WRX STI was equipped with a high-revving and powerful 2,0-liter turbo boxer, which initially developed 184 kW / 250 hp. The second generation of the sporty Impreza finally made it to Europe in 2001 - with characteristic STI headlights and grill, large hood on the bonnet and the popular, bright “World Rallye Blue” paintwork combined with gold-painted aluminum wheels. The engine of this WRX STI developed an impressive 195 kW / 265 PS. The front was completely redesigned for the 2006 model year, and the WRX STI now had a rear diffuser, an additional wing on the rear roof end and finally, in Europe, a turbocharged four-cylinder with a displacement of 2,5 liters and 206 kW / 280 PS. The engine output could even be briefly increased by three percent by injecting water onto the intercooler - a technology that the WRX STI had inherited from its rallying relatives.

Gen.3 with 300 hp from a 2,5 liter boxer

Subaru WRX STI: Myth from the blue and gold rally era!

The third generation of the WRX STI rolled out in 2008. Instead of crisp notchback, the new one showed a practical hatchback with a large hatch. The super sports car for racing and long-distance races differed from the civil Impreza only in the logos, flared fenders, the air inlet for the intercooler and large wheels. But under the hood was a 221 kW / 300 PS strong 2,5-liter boxer, which provided a powerful 407 Newton meters of torque and brought the WRX STI from zero to 5,2 km / h in just 100 seconds. In 2010, to the delight of many fans, it was finally “The wing is back” when the WRX STI pulled up again with a notchback and a strikingly large rear wing. At the same time, he now officially renounced the Impreza name affix that had been used up until then. A logical decision, because for most customers the WRX STI had long been an independent model line.

WRX STI discontinued in early summer 2018

The fourth and, for the time being, last generation of the Subaru WRX STI was introduced in 2014. With on board the proven combination of powerful boxer engine, six-speed manual transmission and permanent all-wheel drive as well as the further developed center differential Multi-Mode DCCD (Driver's Control Center Differential) for variable distribution of the drive torque to the front and rear axles. Due to the increasingly stricter emissions regulations, production of the WRX STI for the European market was discontinued in early summer 2018. In the hearts of all rally fans and the most varied of racing series on asphalt and gravel, the WRX STI myth still lives on.

Subaru WRX STI: Myth from the blue and gold rally era!

Photos: Subaru

Subaru WRX STI: Myth from the blue and gold rally era!

Of course, that wasn't the end of it. Our tuning magazine has tens of thousands more tuning reports in stock. Do you want to see them all? Just click HERE and look around. Or are you particularly interested in the Subaru brand? Then the following excerpt is sure to be just the thing.

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Subaru WRX STI: Myth from the blue and gold rally era!

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Subaru WRX STI: Myth from the blue and gold rally era!

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Subaru WRX STI: Myth from the blue and gold rally era!

Subaru WRX STI: Myth from the blue and gold rally era!

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About Thomas Wachsmuth

Thomas Wachsmuth - He has been an integral part of tuningblog.eu since 2013. His passion for cars is so intense that he invests every available penny in them. While he dreams of a BMW E31 850CSI and a Hennessey 6x6 Ford F-150, he currently drives a rather inconspicuous BMW 540i (G31/LCI). His collection of books, magazines and brochures on the subject of car tuning has now reached such proportions that he himself has become a walking reference work for the tuning scene.  More about Thomas

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