Subaru Announces More Powerful, Japan-Only WRX STI TC 380

Modifications to the cars will be overseen by Japanese rally driver Toshihiro Arai, who competed in the World Rally Championship with Subaru. They include a suite of factory-approved HKS go-fast parts, including a GT III RS Sport turbo kit, a Super Turbo resonator, and a high-flow catalytic converter.

Arai Motorsport itself will install the HKS parts, but add components of its own, which include an RQA air filter and an in-house front chassis brace to increase frame rigidity. A carbon fiber rear lip spoiler will aid grip at high speeds, and a serial-numbered Recaro bucket seat whose design is exclusive to the TC 380 will clamp the driver down inside.

Subaru has yet to release a full set of photos of the car, showing only its badge and approximate silhouette in the one picture published. More are on the way when Subaru launches a standalone site for the model.

The automaker plans to manufacture just 50 of the WRX STI TC 380. Orders for the ¥4,965,840 JPY (about $43,900 USD) car opened Saturday and will remain so until supplies are exhausted.

It joins a series of other limited-edition WRX variants released by Subaru to maintain public interest in the model as this model cycle nears its end. Japan got the RA-R over the summer, and the United States got the Series.Gray and the comparable Raiu Edition. A new generation of WRX (or its successor) is expected to arrive in 2020, still with a manual transmission, but whether the next WRX will be a hybrid is uncertain.