Subaru Celebrates 30 Years of STI

On April 2nd, 1988, the Six-Star brand founded Subaru Technica International, establishing what would eventually become 30 years of high-performance both on and off the track. Now, Subaru is celebrating the birth of its go-faster racing division and three decades of awesomeness.

Continue reading for the full story.

The Full Story

Way back in 1972, Subaru launched its racing career with the Leone, otherwise known as the GL here in the U.S., sending the race-prepped four-door out to compete in the Australia Southern Cross Rally. Several years later, in 1980, Subaru entered the prestigious World Rally Championship (WRC), becoming the first to enter a 4WD vehicle in the international series.

It was around this time that Subaru decided to establish a dedicated performance subsidiary, and thus, STI was born.

As a means to cement its turbocharged AWD presence in the world of performance cars, STI built its first model in 1989. Dubbed the Legacy RS RA, this first-gen hot-rod Scooby got new suspension bits and new brakes, as well as 220 boosted horses from a stout boxer engine package.

Not long afterwards, STI began to make waves by breaking the FIA World Speed Endurance Record for 100,000 km (62,137 miles), going an average of 138 mph for 20 days straight. The brand then cut its teeth in motorsport with successful runs at the Safari Rally in 1990, following it up with a run at the World Rally Championship, gaining its very first WRC win in 1993 at the New Zealand Rally with the legendary Colin McRae behind the wheel.

A year later, STI turned its tuning attention to the Subaru Impreza, and it wasn’t long after that the Six Stars began to top the podium, securing second place in the ’94 championship run before going on to win three consecutive manufacturer titles between 1995, 1996, and 1997. As a result, Subaru had etched its spot in the history books as the first-ever Japanese manufacturer to win three back-to-back WRC titles.

In 2008, STI conquered the Nurburgring, considered to be one of the most challenging race tracks in the world, with class wins at the Nurburgring 24-Hour event in 2011, 2012, 2015, and 2016.

STI also set a new production sedan lap record at the ‘Ring in 2010 with a WRX STI Spec C driven by former WRC title winner Tommi Makinen, going an impressive 7:55.

To make the transition from competition to the road, STI lent a hand in Subaru’s production car manufacturing, starting with the Legacy STI, which was released to the Japanese market in 1992.

The very first WRX STI was released in 1994 and followed by the WRX Type RA STI, the latter of which came with the now well-known Driver Controlled Center Differential (DCCD) transmission.

After taking top honors in the WRC three years in a row, Subaru introduced the venerable 22B in 1998 for the JDM market. Considered by many to be the all-time top-dog Subaru WRX, the 22B saw production numbers under 400 units, and came finished in Sonic Blue Mica paint with gold BBS wheels in the corners, a combo now recognized as the quintessential Subaru color scheme. Under the hood was a rip-snortin’ 2.2-liter turbo boxer engine which produced upwards of 280 horsepower.

The Subaru WRX STI was the first-ever STI model offered in the U.S., first hitting the scene back in 2004. As Subaru’s range-topping flagship model, the 2004 WRX STI permanently changed the landscape of performance cars in the U.S., rocking the boat with over 300 ponies, a six-speed manual gearbox, a DCCD gearbox, sporty suspension tuning, and plus-sized Brembo brakes.

All told, Subaru and STI have plenty to boast about. Highlights include three World Rally Championship titles, 47 individual WRC race wins (more than any other Japanese manufacturer), and four class wins at the 24-Hours Nurburgring race.

STI has also employed several highly celebrated drivers over the years, including the likes of Colin McRae (1995 WRC champion), Richard Burns (2001 WRC champion), Peter Solberg (2003 WRC champion), and Toshihiro Arai (2005 and 2007 Production car WRC champion).

These days, STI is still doing its thing, with the Six Stars blitzing the Nurburgring Nordschleife with a sub-7-minute (6:57.5) lap time in a WRX STI Type RA NBR as of July of 2017, setting a new world record for sedan models as a follow up to its previous record in 2010.

Other records include blistering runs at the Isle of Man TT and Goodwood Festival of Speed hill climb event. STI also runs in the Japanese Super GT series with the BRZ GT300.

And although it’s no longer in the WRC, Subaru is still getting sideways in the Global Rallycross series.

Contemporary enthusiasts get to enjoy the results of all this hard work with models like the limited-run 2018 WRX STI Type RA, 500 of which sold stateside, offering up extra power, a carbon fiber roof, Bilstein Sport Suspension, and an updated Multi-Mode Vehicle Dynamics Control.

Looking to the future, STI will head back to Germany in May to once again participate in the Nurburgring 24-Hour race.

“Whether designing individual performance parts or tuning complete cars, STI aims at one basic goal above all: to empower the driver with a more engaging, responsive experience,” says the automaker.

Now we just need a USDM WRX STI wagon, and we’ll be quite satisfied.