- Subaru will soon reveal two new STI-branded concepts, one of which is fully electric.
- The blurb makes the Performance-E concept sound like a production preview study.
- It looks like a hatchback or wagon with stick-out wheel arches and a very aggressive rally car-like stance.
Subaru doesn’t offer any electric vehicles developed in-house. Both the Solterra and Trailseeker are built on shared Toyota underpinnings, and they pretty much feel like a bZ and bZ Woodland to drive. But Subaru’s electric lineup might become more exciting soon with the addition of an STI-badged EV, which might be on the way.
We don’t know a whole lot about it right now, other than the fact that Subaru is preparing to reveal two STI concepts at the Japan Mobility Show this year. The manufacturer says the new electric concept called the Performance-E, “represents the future of the performance scene, spearheading Subaru’s new generation.” That sounds like it could preview a new performance-oriented Subaru EV, so let’s not get our hopes up just yet.
Subaru’s new STI concepts. The one further away is electric.
Photo by: Subaru
But Subaru says more that suggests this isn’t simply a one-off design study, when it states that the car “evokes the brand’s heritage while providing a driver-friendly layout and a comfortable, spacious interior. By incorporating various innovative technologies, this concept model offers intuitive, exhilarating driving experiences.” Mentioning practicality and desirable interior characteristics that you would want in a production car strengthens the idea that whatever this car is, it shows some production intent.
The concept doesn’t look like yet another SUV or crossover in either of the two teaser shots. It’s a low-slung car with an aggressive front design and bold stick-out fender flares. In the second teaser image, its outline is clearly like that of a hatchback or a wagon. It could be related to the new electric Corolla concept that Toyota is set to reveal at the same venue, so it might be the sporty version of a long-roof sister model to the Corolla EV, based on the same underpinnings.
We’ll have to wait until October 29, when the Japan Mobility Show 2025 opens its doors. The electric STI concept will share the stage with a gas-burning STI hatch concept called the Performance-B. In January, Subaru also unveiled the WRX STI S210 production car, which gets 300 horsepower but only a CVT transmission with no manual option. Maybe the two new concepts show renewed interest in the STI badge. We know we would love to see what an electric STI could become.
This won’t be the first electric Subaru concept with an STI badge, though. The 2022 STI E-RA was a motorsport-derived study that was meant to spawn a track-focused racer whose purpose was to break the Nurburgring Nordschleife lap record. However, that record attempt never came, and the STI E-RA remained a cool-looking electric track special that never actually saw a track. It would surely have been a sight to behold around a circuit with its 1,073 hp quad-motor powertrain and advanced torque vectoring technology.
