Next Subaru WRX STI Will Probably Be a Hybrid, Report Says

If a new report is to be believed, it sounds like Subaru is addressing the complaints head-on. According to a report by Dutch auto publication AutoRAI translated by Autocar, the next-generation of Subie's iconic rally-car-for-the-street will probably come with hybrid power. Subaru Europe sales and marketing manager David Dello Stritto told AutoRAI that the current STI's 2.5-liter turbo engine "can simply not exist in the future." The report says that its replacement powertrain will likely be of the plug-in hybrid variety. How's that for progress?

Such a radical change in the STI lineage won't come quickly, though. "There will really be a new WRX STI in the future, but it takes time," said Dello Stritto. "We’re not giving up on 'fun to drive'. The new Impreza delivers this fun in a different, more sensible, CO2 emissions-compliant way." A previous report pegged the next-gen WRX STI to arrive in 2020.

While the Subaru exec didn't explicitly confirm the next STI as a plug-in hybrid, he stated that "Subaru is looking carefully at market developments and makes its future plan with this information in mind," referencing the ever-tightening emissions regulations that aim to make the internal combustion engine obsolete in the next several decades. In other words, if the next WRX STI isn't a hybrid, the one after it sure as hell will be.

Traditionalist STI fans may decry this news 'til the cows come home, but considering how not-lame hybrid performance cars have been so far, I'm optimistic. Just think of it as a four-door, budget Acura NSX instead of an all-wheel drive, gold-rimmed Prius.