The Subaru WRX is an all-wheel-drive sport compact car that began as the performance version of the Impreza, created for the World Rally Championship in 1992. From the 2015 model year it has been a separate model with its own body style.
Subaru WRX at a glance
| Maker | Subaru, Japan |
|---|---|
| Production | since 1992 |
| Class | sport compact car |
| Name | Subaru says WRX stands for “World Rally eXperimental” |
| Layout | all-wheel drive |
| Based on | Subaru Impreza until 2014 |
| Separate model | from the 2015 model year, VA chassis |
| Motorsport division | Subaru Tecnica International, founded 1988 |
| First STi road car | January 1994 |
| US arrival | WRX for 2002, STI for 2004 |
| Colours | blue with gold alloy wheels |
| Sister model | Saab 9-2X for 2005 and 2006 |
Based on one source, the English Wikipedia article on the Subaru WRX.
History of the Subaru WRX
Subaru set up Subaru Tecnica International in 1988 as its motorsport division for the World Rally Championship. After the first Impreza appeared in November 1992 and the Group A rally car entered the WRC the following year, an STi version went on sale in January 1994 as a road-going homologation model. Further STi versions followed, at first only in Japan and later in selected markets, and because the STi was usually the highest specification of the Impreza it became popular with tuners and club racers.
Impreza-based WRX, 1992–2014
The first three generations of WRX were based on the standard Impreza and replaced the Subaru RX hatchback and saloon. The first cars used the Impreza saloon (GC), with wagons (GF) arriving in 1993 and the first WRX STi in 1994; several limited-edition coupés of the late 1990s and early 2000s were never sold in the United States and are now sought after. The second generation (GD saloon, GG wagon) reached America for 2002, with the STI following for 2004, and its front end changed from the “bugeye” of 2000 to the “blobeye” in 2004 and the “hawkeye” in 2006.
Under the agreement between Fuji Heavy Industries and General Motors, Saab sold its own version as the 9-2X for 2005 and 2006, in a standard Linear and a performance Aero package that was mechanically the same as the second-generation WRX wagon. The third generation used the GE saloon and GH hatchback, with a widened GR body for the STI hatchback, and from 2011 the wide-body GV and GR. When the Impreza was redesigned for 2012 the WRX stayed on its own third-generation platform until 2014.
Separate model from 2015
The fourth-generation WRX, on the VA chassis, was marketed from 2015 as a separate model from the Impreza, with a body that was not offered as a hatchback or wagon; the estate role passed to the Levorg. Subaru has always presented the WRX as a showcase for its symmetrical all-wheel-drive technology, and the car is best known in its striking blue with gold alloy wheels, a colour scheme that comes from a sponsorship with a Singapore cigarette brand.
STI models fall into two broad groups. Some are fully developed cars built to homologate the model for motorsport and sold as street-legal road cars; others are complete cars fitted at the factory with parts from the STI catalogue and sold as “Tuned by STI” versions. Cosmetic special editions in limited numbers have also been sold, many of them only in Japan.
Design and features
- All-wheel drive: symmetrical all-wheel drive is the car’s defining feature.
- STI versions: homologation specials and factory-tuned models from Subaru Tecnica International.
- Boxer turbo engine: a turbocharged flat-four under the bonnet.
- Blue and gold: the rally-inspired colour scheme most cars are known by.
- Own body from 2015: the WRX no longer shares the Impreza’s shell.
Subaru WRX versions
- WRX (GC, 1992): the first saloon, with wagons from 1993.
- WRX STi (1994): the first road-going STi version.
- Second generation (2002): bugeye, blobeye and hawkeye front ends.
- Saab 9-2X (2005–2006): Saab-badged WRX wagon.
- Third generation (2008): saloon and hatchback, wide-body STI.
- WRX (2015): the first separate model, VA chassis.
The WRX grew out of the Impreza, and its rally history is told in the article on the Subaru World Rally Team. More Subarus are in the Subaru collection.
Video: Audi RS4 versus Subaru WRX STI
Video by Terrex on YouTube.
Sources
- Subaru WRX, English Wikipedia: STI, generations, markets, Saab 9-2X
