Subaru is getting ready to overhaul its performance car range in Australia.
The 2022 Subaru BRZ and Subaru WRX will be in local showrooms before the end of 2021, with the hotter WRX STI to follow.
“We get the next generation of [the WRX and BRZ] halo cars later in 2021,” said Subaru Australia managing director, Blair Read.
Details about the upcoming WRX are hazy, but Mr Read confirmed the car would stick to “core Subaru DNA” when it launches.
Given the WRX has combined turbocharged, four-cylinder boxer power with rally-inspired all-wheel drive since the badge’s creation in 1992, it isn’t a stretch to expect the same basic layout in the 2022 model.
The current WRX produces 197kW of power and 350Nm of torque in standard guise, with the STI amping that up to 221kW of power and 407Nm of torque.
Both models come with a six-speed manual transmission as standard, though the regular WRX has an optional continuously-variable transmission.
BestCarWeb reports the new generation Subaru WRX will go on sale in Japan in August.
The long-awaited fifth-generation of the nameplate is expected to migrate to the Subaru Global Platform underpinning the current Impreza, XV and Levorg, as well as the sixth-generation Outback.
It will reportedly upgrade to a version of the turbocharged 2.4-litre flat-four offered in the North American Ascent SUV.
While the Ascent produces 190kW of power and 376Nm of torque, the WRX’s application of the 2.4-litre will reportedly pump out upwards of 213kW.
The 2022 BRZ has already been revealed in the USA.
It’s longer and lower than the first-generation car, and the interior has been given a much-needed makeover.
As for the engine? Gone is the 2.0-litre engine from the outgoing BRZ, replaced by a 2.4-litre unit with 170kW of power and 249Nm of torque.
Peak torque comes on tap at just 3700rpm – just before the last engine fell off a cliff – while peak power doesn’t arrive until 7000rpm.
It’s still a four-cylinder, still horizontally-opposed, and still naturally-aspirated.
The BRZ and WRX both proved surprisingly strong sellers for Subaru in 2020.
A total of 407 BRZ sales represented incremental growth over 2019, while 1399 WRX sales was a 26.1 per cent jump over the year prior.
MORE: Subaru BRZ news and reviews
MORE: Subaru WRX news and reviews
