Subaru Teases New STI Will Debut at 2026 Tokyo Auto Salon
2026 is still brand new and we’re already one big step closer to the next Subaru STI model. After showing off a few STI concepts in 2025, Subaru is teasing that a look at a nearly production-ready STI model will debut at the 2026 Tokyo Auto Salon starting on January 9th.
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In addition to Subaru Japan droping a press release which details what they’ll have on hand in its Tokyo Auto Salon exhibit, a teaser video was dropped on social media which clearly features a current generation WRX sedan sporting an STI badge. This video seems to dash any prospects that Subaru will reveal an STI based on the EV concept it showed off last year. Though, I’m not entirely convinced that there was an abundance of Subaru fans who were hoping to see an electric STI in the near future.
Specs are a mystery for now, but it does look loosely like the WRX tS that is currently available in America. That brings us to another mystery, will the STI shown in Tokyo even come to the U.S. market? While a healthy portion of the American enthusiast audience will have its eyeballs focused on Japan this week, it doesn’t mean that Subaru is considering bring this new STI to our shores.
The automotive market in America is, well it’s going through some stuff right now and things are very much in flux. It would be understandable if Subaru chooses more predictable markets for what is admittedly a niche performance vehicle. Obviously, like many others I’m personally hoping that Subaru takes the risk and brings the new STI to North America, but I won’t be shocked if it doesn’t.
For now all we can do is wait for the big reveal on January 9th. The reveal will be livestreamed (in Japanese only) on YouTube if you want to watch along. I’ll make sure to have the livestream here so it will be easy to find.