2012 Subaru WRX STI

While we’ve seen the all-new Subaru Impreza earlier this year, we have yet to hear much about the ultimate high-performance version of the car, the WRX STI. Subaru has been very secretive about the car, not allowing any information to get out to the media, but our colleagues in Japan were able to uncover some important details.The STI’s launch is still about a year away—we hear that it’s scheduled to reach dealer showrooms in the summer of 2012. The car will first appear as a 5-door hatchback, with perhaps a sedan version to follow. It seems that Subaru has plans to compete in various motorsports events with the WRX STI, so expect to see the hatchback at rally events, with the sedan competing in touring-car races.We’re still unsure how the U.S.-spec WRX STI will differ from the home-market version, but we do know that both will produce more than 300 bhp. The Japanese model will come powered by a new version of the FB flat-4 with a turbocharger. Our sources say that the 2.0-liter engine will produce 330 bhp and 324 lb.-ft. of torque, which is 8 bhp and 12 lb.-ft. more than the current domestic model. Despite the additional power, we expect fuel economy to improve.The price is expected to be around $35,000, but we’re hoping Subaru will be able to bring that down to the $30,000 mark. With the high value of the Japanese yen to the American dollar, however, that might prove impossible. But we do know that the car will be one potent machine. The product general manager of the Impreza, Akihide Takeuchi, said that although he can’t comment on the progress of the car, it would be safe for all of us to have very high expectations.