Subaru Motorsports Playfully Provokes Us With Mockup of Street-Legal WRX Rally Car

      Subaru Motorsports USA through Facebook

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      Currently, there are numerous creative artists envisioning cars that don't exist but ought to, sharing their ideas online. This doesn't even account for those who use AI image generators to create absurd vehicle names with often disappointing outcomes. However, the recent renderings of a Subaru WRX rally car in a street version resonate differently, as they originated from Subaru Motorsports itself.

      Earlier this week, Subaru’s U.S. rally team, managed by Vermont SportsCar, posted images of its WRX ARA25 rally car in a sleek white and blue finish, devoid of any liveries and featuring gold rims, captioned “What if the Subaru WRX ARA25 was available as a road car?” The responses were predictable, ranging from people willing to sell their kidneys to acquire one, to others clamoring for a new STI. This conceptualization is much more radical than nearly any Impreza or WRX the brand has ever produced, including the iconic 22B.

      The time of homologation specials—race cars that had to be sold as road vehicles to qualify for competitions—has long since faded. Three or four decades ago, we might have seen something akin to these images. The 22B STI, although it shared many aesthetic traits with Subaru’s WRC vehicle from the late ’90s, was essentially a Type R chassis modified with flared fenders and various mechanical alterations. Subaru created it as a celebration of its rally achievements—not because it was a necessity.

      Classic WR Blue Pearl or plain white? Subaru Motorsports USA via Facebook

      Likewise, anything resembling this aspirational ARA25 road car would need to come into existence simply because Subaru desired to create it. Like others, I wish that were the case. The design of the VB WRX has grown on me since its initial reveal, yet I'm still not particularly fond of it. There's excessive cladding, and the rear design appears too narrow and unflattering. However, if the fenders were flared, the body were tightened behind the front wheels, a large wing were added, and the black plastic were replaced with genuine carbon fiber, then suddenly every criticism I had about the current-gen sport sedan would be addressed. Race cars have a talent for achieving that.

      While I usually refrain from indulging in daydreams like this, it feels different when the original equipment manufacturer (or its racing team) encourages us to imagine. Though the STI is currently on hiatus, there’s clearly still a demand for a genuine competitive WRX to take on models like the Civic Type R, GR Corolla, and Golf R. From a commercial standpoint, Subaru is thriving these days thanks to its SUVs, and the optimist in me hopes this increases the likelihood that the automaker decides to invest significantly in a flagship performance vehicle again. That's the optimistic viewpoint; on the other hand, the pessimist in me is left wondering why the Subaru rally team would present such a painful tease.

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