“Something special from Subaru Tecnica International is coming to America for the first time ever.”
- Subaru teaser
That something, as confirmed by a new teaser image released this week by Subaru, is the S209 edition of the company’s WRX STI small sports model. Confined up until now to the Japanese market, the S series of limited-edition performance versions of the WRX STI is going to be offered for the first time to North American consumers.
The teaser image shows a black grille with red trim and S209 badging. Subaru has confirmed that the rest of the car will be on full display at the upcoming North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
In the meantime Subaru has not announced any details to go with the teaser image. We do expect the model will be produced only in limited quantities. Back in 2011, the S206 got a production run of 300 units; the S207 (400 units) and S208 (450 units) that followed were also limited editions.
It’s expected that the S209 will benefit from more power under the hood than the regular STI, which in North America gets 310 hp from its 2.5L 4-cylinder turbo engine in the 2019 edition. It will also likely get special BBS wheels, Bilstein shocks, an oversized rear spoiler and front dive planes, as well as a carbon-fibre roof. Inside Recaro seats will further set the limited edition apart.
Stay tuned for the official debut of the S209 on January 14.