2027 Subaru WRX STI hatch firming

Subaru is back in the kitchen cooking what looks like the answer to all our prayers: a production version of the delightfully mad Performance-B STI Concept, and internet sleuths have worked their magic to imagine the finished product.

The world has been screaming for the return of a turbocharged STI halo for nearly a decade now, and now, almost six months on from the debut of the promising Performance-B STI Concept, we have some movement.

A series of design patents were published by the Japanese IP office last month showing what appears to be a production version of the Performance-B… with minimal changes.

The patent application was submitted in September last year – a month before the concept’s debut at the Japan Mobility Show – and published in March under the ‘passenger car’ classification.

Given its similarity to the concept car, it’s unclear if the renders are actually of the show car or a production derivative, but either way it reinforces both how seriously Subaru is looking to rectify its sensational misstep in axing internal combustion STIs, and how close to production the Performance-B could be.

The filing has certainly captured the attention of the media and in turn, Subaru’s fanbase, which the brand’s local arm recently told to be patient as there’s some “really exciting work going on in the background” to revive STI in some form.

So when’s the car coming? No idea, but digital creators have at least had a crack at mocking up the end result.

Unsurprisingly it looks almost identical to the Performance-B save for a select few details as seen on the leaked design patents: there’s no bonnet vents, and that’s about it – patent images rarely show every minute element.

What’s under the bonnet? Likely a hotter version of the WRX’s 2.4-litre turbo-petrol engine good, in its most potent form overseas, for 202kW/376Nm.

Digital images: Kolesa

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