Subaru 'surprised' if new WRX isn't a manual

Subaru Australia says it is confident it will appease long-time performance enthusiasts when the new Subaru WRX and matching Subaru Levorg launch in Australia around 2022.

A replacement to the longstanding WRX and WRX STI, which have been on sale in their current form since 2014, the new performance duo will be based on the car-maker’s new SGP architecture but will conform to traditional WRX strengths, Subaru believes.

Subaru Australia managing director Colin Christie said he had seen initial plans for the WRX and believes it will strike a chord with dyed-in-the-wool fans. But Christie tempered his statement by pointing out even he is yet to see the final production specification.

“From a timing point of view, they’re basing it on the next couple of years as a window but we don’t have a definite timing. We can’t wait to get the new one but it will be somewhere between next year and the year after. We really don’t have any further timing,” Christie said.

“We get to see the cars in clay and have our input in terms of design language, performance or output. But that doesn’t mean you get exactly what you want. We’ve got a really close relationship with Japan, they do a lot of work trying to understand the customer demands in each market.”

As for what Subaru Australia requested on its ‘wish list’ for next-gen WRX? Christie hinted that a manual transmission was important, even though roughly 60 per cent of current WRX buyers opt for the CVT automatic.

“We haven’t seen the final plans around what will come to market but I’d be surprised if there’s not a manual transmission option for performance vehicles,” he said.

“We’re about 60 per cent automatic CVT at the moment. Subaru understand performance cars, it’s been part of their DNA for long time. I think it is still an important part of a performance range.

“I can’t say too much but we do know manual transmissions are an important parts of a performance car range that I think Subaru has appetite to continue with.”

The other unknown is which engine will power Subaru’s all-paw hero. There have been varying reports to date: some Japanese publications hint at a lean-burn 1.8-litre boxer four-cylinder, while Forbes speculated last week there would be a 298kW 2.4-litre boxer passed down from the new Outback.

There’s also the constant speculation around WRX and electrification, though Christie doused those murmurs by saying “the boxer engine is here for a while”.

While a new WRX and matching Levorg are not due until 2022, Christie hinted there would be some small developments coming to Australia that would help continue momentum for the evergreen sports cars. The most immediate is a special edition WRX that is set to surface later this year.