Subaru to Consider Customer Feedback Before Deciding Which of Its Two Recent STI Concepts to Mass Produce

• Subaru unveiled two STI concepts at the Japan Mobility Show, one electric and once equipped with a gasoline engine.

• The automaker’s Product General Manager said they want to give customers the choice.

• We don’t yet know if the company will produce both or only one.

Subaru is looking for feedback on the two STI concepts it unveiled at the Japan Mobility Show in October.

While the automaker chose to present both an electric concept (STI Performance-E) and one powered by a gasoline engine (STI Performance-B), it hasn’t yet decided which one to produce.

Speaking to Australia’s DRIVE, the automaker’s Product General Manager, Masaaki Kobayashi, said that Subaru wants to give choice to its fans and buyers when it comes to their future products and technologies.

Since Subaru is quite a small company when it comes to automakers, it might not have the resources to manufacture both an electric and combustion-powered low-volume sports car concurrently.

Mr. Kobayashi confirmed that Subaru is still developing electric vehicles, intending to achieve carbon neutrality, but it also wants to sell what people want to buy.

Therefore, if more fans and potential customers express an interest in the STI Performance-B concept, the company might choose to pursue a new generation of gas-powered sports cars instead of focusing on electric power right now.

While no decision has reportedly been made, looking at the two concepts suggests that the Performance-B is closer to production than the Performance-E.

Indeed, the design of this model, which appears to be a more powerful version of the Impreza hatchback fitted with more aggressive bodywork, looks a bit more finished than that of the electric model.

This could be due to the Performance-E’s unique design, however, which wasn’t limited by the constraints of a combustion powertrain. As a result, Subaru designers could focus on aerodynamics, notably by making the front end very low.

There is no question, however, that bringing the Performance-B to market would be much easier than developing an entirely new platform and powertrain suitable for an electric performance vehicle.

Electric and Gasoline Subaru STI Concepts Premiere at Japan Mobility Show 2025

Choosing the gas-powered model would require comparatively minor alterations to an existing platform and the creation of a more powerful variant of one of Subaru’s existing boxer engines, perhaps a more robust version of the 2.4L turbocharged four-cylinder unit used in the current WRX sedan.

Previous STI models made use of a 2.0L turbo four engine in Japan and a 2.5L turbo in other global markets.

Source: DRIVE