Subaru Just Teased a Trifecta of Three-Pedaled Enthusiast Specials

What is it with Subaru and keeping the good stuff from Americans?

Rear close-up of a blue Subaru car showing the taillight and "SUBARU AWD" badge.

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Published June 8, 2026

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It looks like Subaru wasn’t joking when it said it planned to bring STI back to its former glory. The Japanese automaker and its in-house performance division, Subaru Technica International, just dropped some teasers of some near-future specials.

They promise to be absolutely fantastic. Not one, but three manual transmission-equipped driver’s specials are gearing up to take a bow. Except, in good ‘ole Subaru fashion, they’re supposedly destined only for the Japanese domestic market.

More forbidden Subaru fruit for us Americans

Three cars covered with blue satin cloths on a dark concrete floor. — Subaru’s preparing some apparently awesome three-pedaled enthusiast specials for us Yanks to drool over.

Because some notable annual Japanese races are around the corner, Subaru is snagging some of the limelight. Japan’s Fuji 24 Hours race is on the horizon, and it’s one of the nation’s most prestigious endurance competitions.

It’s also the third event in the iconic Super Taikyu motorsports league. It’s basically Japan’s equivalent to America’s IMSA-sanctioned Rolex 24 at Daytona.

Blue Subaru race car with white wheels and sponsors, flanked by two drivers in blue racing suits. — Subaru has been on a roll, revamping its motorsports efforts with its in-house performance division, Subaru Technica International.

Super Taikyu is Japan’s premier touring car series, dominated by racecars from domestic manufacturers. Subaru is a major player, all the more since the brand has recently revamped its motorsports efforts.

Coinciding with the event is the debut of these three special models, all to commemorate Subaru’s participation in this year’s race.

But because Subaru only teased these specials, specifics are limited. However, that doesn’t stop us from getting all excited and speculating about the possibilities.

What modern Subaru dreams are likely made of

Blue Subaru WRX STI sedan with hood scoop driving on a racetrack corner. — The quirky Japanese automaker gave its home turf a limited-production WRX STI, but the new model could be more readily available.

Among the three is a supposed new version of the WRX STI. Just a few months ago, Subaru gave Japan the Sport#. It’s basically the closest thing to a modern WRX STI.

Ticking all the boxes of Subaru enthusiasts’ dreams, the Sport# is essentially a WRX but tuned and equipped with a manual transmission as standard. With production capped at 600 units, you had to go through a lottery selection system to own one.

Black leather-wrapped manual gear shift knob with silver accent and stitched leather boot in a car interior. — All three of these new cars will supposedly boast standard manual transmissions.

Now, this new model could apparently be a more mass-produced variant for those who weren’t able to score a Sport#.

Subaru noted that this new WRX STI will sport the same heavier-duty “TY85” manual transmission as the previous WRX STI. As such, this new variant may boast even more power.

More of the same

Blue Subaru BRZ STI with large rear wing and white Subaru BRZ STI on a racetrack corner. — Subaru created the BRZ STI Sport Type RA as a hard-edged, lightweight performance variant of the already pretty darn light and sporty BRZ.

Next is an apparent, lightweight, driver-focused version of the BRZ. While details are even more limited, multiple Japanese auto blogs report this new special is a follow-up to the BRZ STI Sport Type RA.

Subaru STI introduced the latter as a sportier, higher-performing record-attempting variant (hence, the “RA”). The model distinguished itself with more aggressive aerodynamic body work, high-performance ZF dampers with matching Brembo brakes, and a production cap of 300 units.

This time around, Subaru took all that it learned from the RA and applied it to this upcoming variant to build another, even harder-edged BRZ.

Blue Subaru hatchback with large rear spoiler and black alloy wheels in a studio. — The new hatchback could finally be the production version of this Performance-B STI Concept that everyone’s been lusting over.

Finally, there’s the promise of a new, affordable and sporty STI-tuned hatchback. Again, as details are limited, speculation has some gravitating towards a production variant of the Performance-B STI Concept from the 2025 Japan Mobility Show.

Since details are limited, one can only guess as to what said hatchback could be. Regardless, as excited as we are that Subaru is reinvigorating its performance division, we’d be more so if it brought the party to our shores.

About the Author: Chris Chin is an associate editor at Gear Patrol, covering cars, trucks and anything else with four wheels. He has over a decade of experience writing news and reviews but considers himself an enthusiast first, with a passion for classics and European cars. His daily driver is a 1987 Mercedes-Benz 560SEL with nearly 250,000 miles (87,000 are his).

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