--- title: "Subaru Motorsports Rudely Teases Us With Street-Legal WRX Rally Car Mockup" date: "2025-06-28" modified: "2025-06-28" authors: - name: "Adam Ismail" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/adam-ismail" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/subaru-motorsports-rudely-teases-us-with-street-legal-wrx-rally-car-mockup" categories: - "News" - "News by Brand" - "Subaru News" tags: - "compact" - "sedan" - "sports car" - "Subaru" - "WRX" --- # Subaru Motorsports Rudely Teases Us With Street-Legal WRX Rally Car Mockup ![Image of fake rendered Subaru WRX ARA25 road car.]() *\Subaru Motorsports USA via Facebook\* These days, there is no shortage of talented artists dreaming up cars that don't exist, but should, and sharing them online. That's to say nothing of the folks who will punch fake vehicle names into AI image generators for [predictably horrible results](). But these renders of a [Subaru WRX]() rally car in street clothes hit differently, because they came from Subaru Motorsports itself. Earlier in the week, [Subaru's U.S. rally team](), which is operated by the fine folks at Vermont SportsCar, [shared images]() of its WRX ARA25 rally car in stark white and blue with no liveries and gold rims and the caption "What if the Subaru WRX ARA25 was sold as road car?" The resulting comments were predictable, from some people offering to donate their kidneys for the cause, to others predictably begging for a new STI. But this thought exercise is so much more extreme than just about any Impreza or WRX the company's ever sold, including the vaunted 22B. The era of homologation specials—race cars that had to be sold as road cars, to be eligible for competition—has long since passed. Three or four decades ago, we might've gotten something like these images. The [22B STI](), though it shared many visual similarities to Subaru's WRC car of the late '90s, was really a Type R chassis with flared fenders and many mechanical changes. [Subaru]() built it because it chose to, to celebrate its rallying success—not because it *had* to. ![]() ![]() Similarly, anything like this pie-in-the-sky ARA25 road car would have to come about because Subaru wanted to build it. Like everyone else, we wish it did. The VB WRX's design has warmed up on me since its initial unveiling, but I still don't love it. There's just too much cladding, and the rear end design is very narrow and cinched in an unflattering way. But flare those fenders, tuck in the body just behind the front wheels, bolt on a big-ass wing, and swap all that black plastic out for genuine carbon fiber and, suddenly, you've systematically dismantled every possible criticism I though I had with the current-gen sport sedan. Race cars just have a knack for doing that. As much as I avoid getting caught up in daydreaming like this, it's a different story when it's the OEM itself (or, its racing team) inviting us to do it. The STI may have [gone on a hiatus](), but it's clear that there is still an appetite for a true giant-killing WRX to battle the likes of the Civic Type R, GR Corolla, and Golf R. Commercially, Subaru is [killing it these days]() thanks to its SUVs, and the optimist in me is hopeful that increases the chances the automaker simply decides to blow a whole lot of money on a flagship performance car again. That's the glass-half-full take, anyway; the pessimist in me is wondering why the Subaru rally team chose violence with such a cruel tease. *Got a tip? Email us at tips@thedrive.com*[]()[]() ## Author Adam is a Senior Editor at The Drive, concentrating on curating and developing the site's slate of daily journalism, from initial pitch to final copy edit. When he's not at his desk researching leads and working with writers, he's testing vehicles or reviewing racing games, new and old. He joined The Drive in 2023, following seven years of covering consumer technology and cars. A car lover and gamer since his earliest memories, Adam came to know the automotive world through video games. First it was Daytona USA, Sega Rally, and Ridge Racer; then came Need For Speed, which inspired an encyclopedic knowledge of '90s supercars, and, of course, Gran Turismo. If not for them, he'd assuredly be doing something else right now. Adam is based in the suburbs outside Philly, where there are ample roads for his hot hatch to stretch its legs. In his car, he's probably listening to indie rock, drum and bass, or Yankees baseball. ### Author social links [Bluesky]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()