Subaru Creates New Performance Division — Three Manual Sports Cars in Development

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Subaru has created a dedicated team focused solely on developing future performance vehicles.

Executives say three manual-transmission sports cars are already in the development pipeline.

The move could mark Subaru’s biggest enthusiast-focused shift in more than a decade.

For years, Subaru enthusiasts have watched the company drift away from the formula that made it the brand it is today. The STI disappeared, the WRX gradually evolved into a more mature (and far less playful) sports sedan, and exciting concepts repeatedly stole headlines before leading to exactly nothing for customers to own. Now, Subaru is acknowledging things need to change, and it’s creating an entirely new division dedicated to making sure fun cars don’t become an afterthought.

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Also: Subaru’s Cheapest New Car Is A $7,200 Kei Van With Three Pedals

According to a report from Japan’s BestCar, the automaker recently established a new Product Innovation Headquarters. Within it is a Sports Vehicle Planning Office tasked exclusively with adding fun back to the Subaru brand. If that sounds like something Subaru should have done years ago, you’re right!

Subaru Admits The Problem

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The announcement came during an interview with Subaru Chief Technical Officer Tetsuro Fujinuki, who made it clear the company wanted to abandon its previous development process. “We decided to stop doing things the old way,” Fujinuki said. “Because it’s boring.”

More: Subaru Is Building Three New Manual Cars, Including An Affordable Hatch

That’s a remarkably candid admission from a company whose performance lineup has largely stood still while rivals continued pushing forward, as Autoblog points out. Subaru’s reputation was built on rally-bred machines like the WRX STI, Legacy GT, Forester XT, and other turbocharged, all-wheel-drive performance cars. Yet over the past decade, the enthusiast side of the business has steadily shrunk. At this point, it’s akin to a Hawkeye WRX STI rotting away in a field.

Perhaps nothing illustrates that stagnation better than the STI itself. The final U.S.-spec WRX STI produced 310 hp (231 kW), just 10 hp more than the 300 hp (224 kW) model that arrived in America back in 2004. Instead of evolving into an ever-more capable flagship, the STI simply disappeared after the 2021 model year, leaving enthusiasts wondering whether Subaru still cared about performance at all.

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Blaming The Rulebook

According to Fujinuki, changing emissions and fuel economy regulations had made it difficult to justify more powerful gasoline models. Those same regs didn’t stop cars like the Toyota GR Corolla , Honda Civic Type-R, and Hyundai Elantra N from arriving on the scene, though. That said, American regulations are nowhere near as tough as they had been.

Also: WRX Sales Nearly Quadruple In June After Subaru Slashed Prices By Over $5,000

Creating a new department doesn’t automatically guarantee a new golden age for Subaru performance cars. Enthusiasts have spent years watching exciting concepts come and go without ever reaching dealerships. But establishing an entire office dedicated to sports cars is a far more meaningful commitment than another flashy concept unveiled at an auto show.

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Photos: Subaru