Subaru WRX 30-year edition in the making

Fresh from celebrating half a century of operations with the Subaru WRX, Forester and Outback 50 Years Editions, Subaru Australia has confirmed it will release a special-edition Subaru WRX to mark the iconic performance car’s 30th birthday in Australia next year.

Speaking with carsales at the launch of the new Subaru Crosstrek this month, Subaru Australia managing director Blair Read said there was a laundry list of options on the table for the 30-year model, including performance enhancements.

“Next year is 30 years of WRX, so you’d want to celebrate that,” Read smiled.

“Absolutely there is scope for performance upgrades, tuning upgrades… there are some different things that are in the works and that are available as accessories at the moment.

“We in the second year of new WRX in this generation in Australia, so you’ll see some enhancements come along and special-edition-style features and some performance and tuning to go along with it.”

The original Subaru WRX hatch debuted in 1994 and its intoxicating combination of all-wheel drive grip and turbocharged boxer power gave it instant credibility and an enduring cult-like following.

The sedan-only fifth-generation Rex launched in Australia last year, debuting a bigger new 2.4-litre FA24 engine with more power (202kW at 5600rpm) but the same 350Nm of torque (over 2000-5200rpm).

Japanese-market WRX models get a 202kW/375Nm tune of the same turbocharged four-cylinder flat four, which opens some potential for Australia.

Read was reticent to reveal specifics, but there won’t be a much hotter STI version of the current WRX, as confirmed by Subaru last year.

News of the WRX’s 30-year celebrations comes amid strong local supply and demand for the fifth-generation model, manual versions of which will finally be fitted with autonomous emergency braking (AEB) by the end of this year.

“It’s performing well. There is reasonable supply, but the higher specification models are subject to a two- to three-month wait,” Read said.

“Others are available within the month, or a shorter timeframe.”