2022 Subaru WRX STI imagined

When the covers came off the 2022 Subaru WRX, the reception from automotive enthusiasts around the world was, well, unenthusiastic at best.

Advancing the styling of the outgoing 'Rex' with some of Subaru’s SUV styling cues didn’t seem to hit the right note with fans, but the WRX isn't the end of the story – the flagship 2022 Subaru WRX STI is still to come, likely to be unveiled globally sometime next year.

We tasked Drive’s com-gen expert, Theophilus Chin, to turn the new WRX into the car we know sports sedan devotees are truly waiting for: the WRX STI.

Tradition tells us that the STI is unlikely to alter ‘fixed’ styling elements, like the pressed metal panels, but bumpers, wheels – and now those controversial wheel-arch flares – could be the key differentiators when placed alongside a regular WRX (pictured below).

Putting digital pen to digital paper (uh… hang on) Theo’s STI leans on STI history, swapping out the WRX’s outboard front bumper side vents for STI-emblazoned blanking panels, directing air to brake cooling vents at the corners, and reconfiguring the central intake to take care of feeding in cooling air.

Of course, being a member of the WRX family, the STI – naturally – retains a top-mount intercooler, and the requisite intake in pride of place atop the bonnet.

Keeping up the visual aggression are plenty of red highlights, and a deeper front lip. Extensions around the bodywork take inspiration from 2018’s Viziv Performance STI concept – itself based on the Viziv Performance concept, which previewed the standard WRX.

Both concept cars featured the same black wheel-arch flares, it must be noted, leaving little hope for fans pushing for the fitment of body-coloured versions instead.

At the sides, we expect Subaru to utilise those new (and highly controversial) black wheel arches to set the STI apart from the WRX. As clip-on panels, rather than parts of the guards themselves, the new flares could potentially amp-up visual aggression, with extra strakes up front, and additional vents not seen on the WRX at the rear.

A lower ride height, as part of a sharpened handling package, and a set of rally-style gold wheels provide another key point of difference.

At the rear, the Drive office has been alight with conversation about that rear bumper. In the case of the WRX, an unmissable solid black slab has drawn plenty of criticism, but look closely at the regular car and you’ll see what appears to be a different colour and texture between upper and lower bumper.

Now, we can’t say for sure if that’s the case until we get out hands on one, but it does open up the possibility of a different rear treatment for the more powerful model. In this instance, we’ve imagined it as taking inspiration from the Viziv Performance STI, with a taller diffuser, and more open faux-venting at the sides.

Of course, the icing on any STI cake is the towering rear wing. In terms of making an STI an STI, few elements are more essential.

As for a potential powertrain – that’s the missing and arguably most crucial detail. Subaru seemingly didn’t win any fans when it announced the WRX would feature a retuned version of the 2.4-litre turbo engine seen in cars like the Outback and Ascent SUVs in the US – but not yet seen in Australia.

The problem wasn’t the new engine, but rather its 202kW and 350Nm outputs. Just 5kW more powerful than the outgoing Australian-market model, with no additional torque.

The engine powering the STI is still unconfirmed, but the most likely outcome is a higher-still output version of the regular Rex's engine. With the current WRX STI laying down 221kW and 407Nm, there’s certainly room to move for the next generation.

Early reports suggest the 2022 Subaru WRX STI could find itself with as much as 298kW and 489Nm – while others indicate closer to 260kW – but given the less than transformative evolution of the regular WRX, there’s also a possibility the new STI could make only a very small improvement over its predecessor.

Applying the roughly 2.5 per cent gain seen in the regular WRX to the STI would see the new car rated to just 227kW.

Let us know in the comments what you’d like to see from the new 2022 Subaru WRX STI, both externally and under the bonnet. Stay tuned to Drive for more news on the new STI as its reveal next year approaches.