Officially on sale in the UK on May 1st, with the first allocation of cars already reserved, the eagerly awaited Subaru WRX STI sports saloon has finally debuted in Europe at the 84th Geneva International Motor Show.
It’s got an all-new exterior – so much so that it is almost a new model let alone an update on a previous one – with the body and chassis having been stiffened considerably to help improve torsional rigidity along with some substantial performance-tuning of the suspension to give a flat and comfortable ride along those not-so-perfect British roads.
When it comes to steering, the WRX STI has new hydraulics with a quicker ratio and stiffer steering rack; and when it comes to the drive itself, you’ll find maximum control with almost-perfect driver engagement thanks to the very latest version of Subaru’s Vehicle Dynamics Control (VDC) with Active Torque Vectoring.
And under the bonnet, to help the relationship between driver and engine get even better, there have been revisions to the six-speed manual gearbox to provide an even shorter, quicker shift between gears. The engine itself that powers the new WRX STI is a 2.5-litre turbocharged version of Subaru’s renowned, horizontally-opposed four-cylinder Boxer engine which produces 300PS at 6,000rpm and 407Nm toque at 4,000rpm.
And there is more space too with more passenger leg room, more shoulder and elbow room all round, and 40 litres more cargo room in the boot.
If you want to see what a real thoroughbred version of the WRX STI looks like, on the stand at Geneva is the ‘car in progress’ that Subaru are putting together to win its third successive class win at the Nürburging in Germany’s Eifel Mountains later in the year..