The 2023 edition of the Tokyo Auto Salon is under way, and Subaru traveled to the event to showcase a new 2024 Impreza fitted with an STI-branded appearance package. The parts give the hatchback a meaner-looking design but it sounds like the flat-four remains stock.
Finished in a head-turning shade of orange, the design study gains a front splitter, side skirts, and a pair of round exhaust outlets that poke out from a redesigned rear diffuser. Look really closely and you’ll notice a subtle “STI” emblem positioned above the exhaust tips — we’re miles away from the vents and wings that Subaru used to put on its STI-developed cars. Black wheels add a finishing touch to the look.
Subaru hasn’t revealed whether there are STI-developed bits and pieces in the suspension system and there’s no mention of further mechanical changes. Offered exclusively as a hatchback, the American-market 2024 Impreza comes standard with a 2.0-liter flat-four carried over from the last-generation model and rated at 152 horsepower and 145 pound-feet of torque. Buyers who want more power can step up to the RS trim, which benefits from a 2.5-liter flat-four shared with the Crosstrek and tuned to develop 182 horsepower and 178 pound-feet of torque.
It’s too early to tell if the STI appearance package will reach production, let alone if it will be offered in the United States. If you want a real STI-tuned Impreza, you’re out of luck: while a new WRX made its debut in 2022, the range-topping WRX STI will not return to the line-up.
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Source: www.autoblog.com