The Subaru WRX sits in a class of one. But that one is about to get redesigned.
The WRX is a high-performance version of an affordable compact car. And while you can say that of a few other cars – the Honda Civic Type R, for instance, or Hyundai Veloster N – the WRX is the only one of the bunch designed for mud and dirt roads. It’s a legend of the rally racing circuit, still sold to the public long after most manufacturers gave up on selling all-wheel-drive compact cars.
The WRX is built on the chassis of the Subaru Impreza, but its highly specialized design means the two cars don’t share as much DNA as you might think. Subaru redesigned the Impreza for the 2017 model year. The last full revamp of the WRX came a couple of years before that.
Now, an all-new model is set to debut later this year. Subaru has released a teaser photo of the 2022 WRX. It’s the first redesign from the wheels up that the WRX has had since the 2015 model year.
The photo doesn’t reveal much. Just a hood with a giant air intake and a standard small car greenhouse. The accompanying text promises the WRX “will be here so fast, it will take your breath away.”
That’s all we know for now. Rumors suggest the new WRX will get a version of the 2.4-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine that powers larger Subaru models like the Outback, where it makes 260 horsepower. We’ll bring more when we know it.
The car it will replace, the current 2021 WRX starts at $27,495, plus a $925 delivery fee.
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