Buckle up Subaru fam, because your holiday wish might just be coming true. The STI badge is returning.
That’s a pretty loaded statement and as you might imagine, it’s followed with a bunch of caveats. But the fact remains and it’s not a rumor. On Christmas Day Subaru released a teaser clip on Instagram of a blue WRX that clearly has an STI badge on its grille. The clip ends with a debut date of January 9, 2025. That’s the day of the 2026 Tokyo Auto Salon.
Subaru put out a press release with computer-generated image showing its 2026 Tokyo Auto Salon display, which can be seen above. That image has all the vehicles Subaru outlines as debuting at the show, except one. Subaru fails to mention a vehicle in its press release that is clearly sitting front and center of the display and is covered in the image. It’s a WRX STI sedan. that also might be displayed digitally above the cloaked vehicle itself.
The teaser clip above shows an STI badge on the grille of a current-generation WRX sedan. The wheels of the car in the teaser clip look similar to those of today’s WRX tS sold in America. A brief running shot of the car tells us this is powered by a boxer engine, which can be heard climbing through the rev range, and it’s visibly a sedan.
While this might dash hopes of a WRX STI hatchback resurrection, which a concept shown in November at the 2025 Japan Mobility Show gave enthusiasts something to get excited about, it might just be the beginning. The gas-powered hot-hatch concept sat just feet from a STI-badged EV concept, which The Drive was told is “under consideration” by Subaru’s design director. The Japanese automaker is still studying future performance models and isn’t sure which direction to go in terms of powertrains.
The largest unknown if whether this STI-badged WRX will come to the U.S. market. The Drive reached out Subaru of America spokespeople, but the automaker (as with much of the world) is on holiday break. We’ll update this story when we hear back.
One way or another, a new WRX STI is debuting just after the new year, and that’s something enthusiasts everywhere can get excited about. Looks like 2026 is going to start off with a boxer-powered bang.
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