AUTONEWS

Subaru brings back the sporty spirit

Subaru plans to offer sporty models in its future all-electric lineup, which could include new sports cars in the style of the Impreza STI and BRZ.

According to Autocar, the company has focused its efforts on rugged SUVs in recent years and has pulled all of its performance models from Europe due to emissions regulations.

But speaking at the unveiling of the new electric Trailseeker at the New York Auto Show, Subaru Europe boss David Dello Srito said that “there are plans to bring back the sporty spirit to Subaru.”

Although he declined to elaborate, he added: "If you ask me to sum up what Subaru means to customers in Europe right now, it's safe, fun and solid. Those values ​​are why our customers in Europe are loyal and keep coming back to us. But there's a fourth pillar that I've been missing in Europe for the last 10 years, which is power/performance. Ask the average person what Subaru means and they'll say STI. You can't separate this from Subaru. So we have to bring the sporty spirit back to Subaru."

Subaru is already considering what it can do in the electric performance space after showing the radical STI E-RA (pictured) in 2022. Delo Strito said: "With EVs you have power and performance, and you have all-wheel drive. We're working on sportier models, and electrification allows us to do that."

Subaru currently has a partnership with Toyota to jointly develop electric cars. That partnership will continue, raising the possibility that the two companies could share a platform for a future sports car, as they did with the BRZ and GT86.

Asked by Autocar if the relationship could help develop a future Subaru performance car, Delo Srito said “of course, yes,” though he declined to comment on whether that would involve technological development or a full-scale model.

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