More STIs on the drawing board

The man in charge of Subaru’s go-fast division, Subaru Tecnica International (STI), Yoshio Hirakawa, says he wants more… More standalone models, more aftermarket parts sales and more differentiation between STI products and their Subaru donor models.

Speaking ahead of the launch of the latest standalone STI model, the WRX STI-based S207 at this week’s Tokyo Motor Show, Hirakawa told motoring.com.au that extra product was key to his focused of growing the brand.

“My dream is to make STI a truly global brand,” Hirakawa told motoring.com.au.

“To do this we need more cars, more models. We will launch two new models per year” the STI President said.

According to Hirakawa, STI’s new models will be a mix of standalone STI specific models such as the S207 and Forester tS, just announced for Australian introduction, and a widening of the STI-developed cars built on Subaru’s own production lines.

Currently only one series production model exists, the WRX STI. But Hirakawa says this number could soon be tripled. In fact, he suggests four models could be in the offing – including a long-awaited powered-up BRZ STI.

The first of the new STI models is likely to be a fettled turbocharged four-cylinder version of the Liberty. Subaru’s recently introduced WRX-based Levorg wagon is also another likely candidate, Hirakawa concedes.

Both models could be on sale during 2016 in some markets, he hinted.

“We are studying the possibility. Not just on paper but with advanced development. These [models] will not be decided as a project only on paper,” he told motoring.com.au.

Hirakawa ruled out Outback as a potential STI target but controversially confirmed his team was working on potential “advanced technology” that could make a BRZ STI a reality.

Subaru has to date ruled out a turbocharged version of the sportscar because of turbo, intercooler and plumbing packaging and crash test incompatibilities.

Hirakawa says an electrically powered turbocharger is “one option to overcome these challenges”.

“This is a sensitive subject. But it [electric turbocharging] is under study for the STI model,” Hirakawa revealed.

But power will not be the only measure of future STI models, the 30-year veteran of Fuji Heavy Industries (FHI), Subaru’s parent company, insists.

“We must not be only power, but also quality; feel on the road. Better sound. Better ride,” he explained.

Just one area in which he sys he will seek to improve both donor and STI models is Subaru’s Lineartronic CVT automatic gearbox, now a core technology for the company,

“I want it to feel more like a manual gearbox,” Hirakawa explained.

“It should launch faster and have a more positive shift feel.

“It is not necessarily to change the hardware. [But] we must work on the algorithms and programs [that control the gearbox],” he explained.