While the industry buries the manual gearbox, Subaru is digging it back up — three times over. By the end of 2027 the Japanese brand will roll out three performance models with a stick shift. All of them will be developed by a brand-new unit, the Sports Vehicle Planning Office, created specifically for fast cars: fewer sign-offs, a shorter road from the race track to the production line.
First comes a production WRX with the six-speed TY85 gearbox that used to serve in the WRX STI. It replaces the current TY75 for a reason: according to Subaru technical chief Tetsuro Fujinuki, the TY85 is rated for roughly 600 Nm, while the current CVT is far more modest. That opens the door to a punchier version of the 2.4-litre FA24 turbo boxer. And the road car’s numbers? Silence, for now.
The second car is a special version of the BRZ coupe. It will be based on the limited-run BRZ STI Sport Type RA: 300 cars handed out by lottery, ZF dampers, Brembo brakes and settings borrowed from Japan’s Super Taikyu series. No extra power is promised at all. Everything rides on response, handling and the way that manual gearbox works.
The most intriguing of the trio is an affordable five-door hatchback that develops the Performance-B STI concept. Subaru has revealed neither its name, nor its engine, nor its drivetrain. Yet on 9 June 2026 the company filed a trademark application for “Impreza TX” with the US and Canadian patent offices, just days after the trio was announced. The timing speaks volumes. But a name on a filing and the name of a production car are still two different things.
Does any of this confirm the return of a proper WRX STI? Not yet. The WRX STI Sport# already sold in Japan makes 275 hp and comes with a manual, Brembo brakes and its own suspension tune, yet it remains a limited edition of the WRX rather than a direct heir to the old STI. Demand, though, speaks for itself: Subaru collected more than 9000 applications for 600 cars. The new gearbox lets the company push power higher — it still refuses to name the production figures.
Subaru has also said it will switch several of its plants to flexible production of different vehicle types.
