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The new king of affordable performance! When you'll be able to buy the new Subaru BRZ, WRX and WRX STI in Australia
Subaru stands at the foothills of a new mountain of performance in Australia, with the clock well and truly counting down to the launch of the three of the most important models in its stable - the Toyota 86-matching BRZ, the hot hatch-bothering WRX, and the ballistic WRX STI.
The three new cars will plant Subaru's flag in the performance world, giving the Japanese brand one of the most lust-worthy affordable performance lineups in on the market.
Are you in the queue for a performance-flavoured Subaru? Here's when to expect them in Australia.
SUBARU BRZ - Q3, 2021
The BRZ is the car with the least mystery surrounding it, given Subaru has revealed all we need to know about the new Toyota 86 twin.
We know, for example, that the BRZ will make use of a 2.4-litre, four-cylinder horizontally-opposed "Boxer" petrol that develops 170kW and 249Nm, up from the up to 152kW and 212Nm produced by the outgoing car.
You can choose between a six-speed manual and the six-speed automatic, with the latter tuned more heavily for performance, including a new Sport mode that will see it pick and stick to lower gears when you’re driving it with gusto.
We also know that there’s been a 60 per cent increase in front lateral rigidity and a 50 per cent increase in torsional stiffness, aiding with handling, while there’s faster steering and more grip from the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres.
As to when, we have it in on good authority that the BRZ will arrive around the third quarter of this year - so July to September - and could be here earlier in that period, rather than later.
SUBARU WRX - Q4, 2021
Fresh reports out of Japan point to the new WRX being officially unveiled in August (which is later than we had initially anticipated), but that might not have an impact on the Australian launch date.
CarsGuide understands Subaru is still targeting a Q4 launch for its reborn performance icon, though pandemic complications could see that launch date pushed into Q1 next year.
We're hopeful, though, that Subaru will manage to sneak the WRX in before the end of the year.
So what exactly are we waiting for? Credible reports point to the new WRX - which will share a whole heap of its important bits with the Subaru Levorg - will ride on the new Subaru Global Platform, and should prove lighter and more rigid than the car it replaces.
Speaking of replacing, the well-known - and well-loved - 2.0-litre turbo is gone, replaced by the brand's bigger 2.4-litre turbo used in the American-spec Ascent SUV.
We're expecting that powertrain to produce a maximum 215kW, though lesser tunes could also be available. That's considerably more, of course, than the outgoing 'Rex, which was good for 197kW.
Faster, lighter, and more rigid? That sounds like a winning formula to us.
Subaru WRX STI - H1, 2022
Following hot on the heels of regular WRX will be the far angrier STI model, which will seriously up Subaru's performance credentials.
Powered by the same engine as its WRX little brother - and riding on a tweaked version of the same platform - the new STI will pump up the grunt, with Japanese media pointing to the new performance hero pumping out a staggering 295kW.
It's at this point we should remind you that the outgoing model manages 221kW - so we're talking a serious power boost. Reports also point to the new model be offered in six-speed manual guise only - essentially reserving it for those with a passion for self-shifting performance cars.
Expect to see it in the first six months of 2022.
