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Subaru’s New STe Will Return The Automaker To Performance Dominance

Subaru Corporation has not given up on its performance models. Subaru will bring back the WRX STI in a new all-electric model. It's coming back as the STe. Check out what's coming for performance enthusiasts from Subaru.

Subaru Corporation will mate high performance with eco-electric soon in new models. Subaru performance enthusiasts have much to look forward to now that Subaru Corporation has recently filed for a patent for the "STe" (Subaru Tecnica electric) nameplate. Subaru Tecnica International will evolve from building high-performance internal combustion (ICE) turbocharged Boxer horizontally-opposed engines to new eco-performance electric models.

Subaru Corporation has not given up on its performance division and racing partner, Subaru Tecnica International (STI). Subaru will return the WRX STI in an all-new, all-electric performance model called the STe.

2025 Subaru STe
photo credit: Subaru all-electric Nitro Rallycross (Nitro RX)

Subaru is no longer waiting in the wings to see what the electric revolution will bring. Instead, Subaru Corporation is busy testing a new high-performance electric STe to replace the discontinued WRX STI.

Subaru dropped the WRX STI when the next-generation 2022 WRX was launched around the globe. As a result, the 2021 WRX STI was the last gas-powered STI, and Subaru began preparations for the all-new electric STI, now to become the STe from Subaru Tecnica electric.

2025 Subaru STe
photo credit: Subaru all-electric Nitro Rallycross (Nitro RX)

Subaru of America and Vermont SportsCar, the Camden, N.J. automaker's motorsports partner, announced they would enter the Nitro RX Championship's new all-electric Group E division last year. Subaru said they would begin the transition to their electrified motorsports program with driver Travis Pastrana alongside "the fast young talent" Conner Martell.

The images in this report are Subaru's new all-electric Nitro Rallycross (Nitro RX) performance car. You can read more about the new program here.

We know the all-electric Subaru STI E-RA concept with 1073 horsepower revealed at the Tokyo Auto Salon in 2022 is being tested. Subaru said its all-wheel-drive technology would evolve in the new carbon-neutral era by testing its 1073 horsepower eco-performance STI E-RA high-performance sports car on the Nurburgring.

Subaru said, "The first goal of the all-electric STI E-RA is to try to record a lap time of 400 seconds (6 minutes 40 seconds) in a time attack at the Nurburgring circuit from 2023 onward." Starting last year, Subaru also used the all-electric performance car in other driving experiments, including circuits in Japan.

Subaru said, "We will utilize the insight gained from this project as an initiative for a future electrified society. STI will continue to create new values so that cars will remain enjoyable and enrich our customers' lives in an increasingly decarbonized world, for all Subarus."

The STI may be dead, but Subaru's performance division is alive and well and is working to develop the next-generation Subaru WRX STe high-performance model. So when will Subaru launch the STe?

In Subaru's updated EV plan, Tomoaki Emori, Subaru's senior corporate planning division vice president, said the Japanese automaker will ramp up its electrified offerings in the critical U.S. market to include "several" new battery electric (BEVs) by 2025. The new BEVs and hybrid models will be built in-house at Subaru's Gunma plant expansion in Japan.

With the new STe patent, it's expected that Subaru customers will see an accelerated plan with its evolving performance division (Subaru Tecnica electric) and bring a new hybrid or all-electric Subaru WRX STe sooner than expected.

It's good news for Subaru's performance customers as the Japanese automaker looks to accelerate plans to offer new eco-performance models. Subaru Corporation has not given up on its performance models. It's coming back as the all-electric WRX STe. Stay tuned.

You Might Also Like: Subaru's New STe Electric Trademark Will Bring High-Performance Back To The Street

Denis Flierl has invested over 30 years in the automotive industry in a consulting role working with every major car brand. He is an accredited member of the Rocky Mountain Automotive Press. Check out Subaru Report, where he covers all of the Japanese automaker's models. More stories can be found on the Torque News Subaru page. Follow Denis on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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Photo credit: Subaru
photos cannot be used without written permission from Torque News and Subaru Report

Comments

Benihana (not verified)    April 10, 2023 - 4:25AM

Number 1) I really appreciate the time and effort that went into this article. 2) That being said, this is the worst idea Subaru could have ever gone with...

Sti owner (not verified)    April 14, 2023 - 1:25AM

Literally nobody wants electric cars, also nobody wanted plastic fenders on the WRX.You ruined the best line of cars ever made. You people and your dumb ideas. Smh

E85guy (not verified)    September 4, 2023 - 5:37PM

In reply to by Sti owner (not verified)

Let’s continue to be stupid. Let’s build cars know body wants. Ask Ford how their EV program is going. Once again the lie, that EV’s will save the planet and the automotive industry. This hypocrisy of charging EV’s on a grid which uses diesel and coal burning power plants is laughable. What ever side you fall on with end of the world climate change, the fact is the majority of the population does not want to drive EV’s. Taking a ICON car like the Sti and all it’s history and making it into a EV is blasphemous.