Subaru WRX History
Catalog record
This is a brief catalog introduction with limited source documentation. A licensed, identity-checked lead photograph has not yet been added for this page. Detailed year, configuration and ownership coverage must be identified separately; this page is not a complete vehicle catalog.
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For most of its life the WRX (World Rally eXperimental) was an Impreza variant: the turbocharged, all-wheel-drive performance version that brought US buyers a taste of the Subaru WRC rally effort. It debuted in the US as the 2002 Impreza WRX and was joined by the full-fat WRX STI for 2004.
For 2015 Subaru gave the WRX its own identity separate from the Impreza, redesigning it as a standalone turbocharged AWD sports sedan on a revised platform. The STI followed as a higher-performance companion with a 305-hp 2.5-liter EJ257 and Brembo brakes.
The 2022 WRX brought a third generation on the Subaru Global Platform (SGP) with a new 271-hp 2.4-liter FA24 turbo engine. In March 2022 Subaru confirmed it would not produce a new WRX STI with an internal-combustion engine, ending the STI line after the 2021 model year — the last STIs were sold as 2021 and final-edition 2022 models.
Generations
First generation (VA) · VA
First standalone WRX; 268-hp FA20DIT turbo 2.0L; STI used 305-hp EJ257 2.5L.
Second generation (VB) · VB
SGP platform; new 271-hp FA24 2.4L turbo; WRX STI discontinued (no ICE successor announced).
Body styles
- Sedan
Notable special editions & performance variants
WRX STI
The full-performance STI variant — 305 hp (EJ257 2.5T), Brembo brakes, torque-vectoring DCCD AWD; discontinued after 2021 with no direct ICE successor.
WRX STI S209
First STI 'S-series' model sold in the US; limited to 209 units; 341-hp EJ257; exclusive to the US market.
Related models
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