There’s an especially vocal contingent of Subaru enthusiasts that believes the WRX must be a hatchback. And seemingly for these enthusiasts, Subaru brought with it not one but two World Rally Blue-clad, hatch-toting concepts to this year’s Japan Mobility Show. One is intended to be all-electric, and looks like no WRX we’ve ever seen. The other, though, is striking because it does look like a few cars we’ve seen before, just never at the same time.
What Subaru appears to have done with the Performance-B STI Concept is graft a modern WRX’s headlights and face onto what is otherwise an Impreza hatch, only with blown-out fenders and a gigantic wing. Technically speaking, this wouldn’t seem to be too hard, as the models share a platform. But it is nevertheless strange in practice, because many of us are probably more used to seeing the back end of a current Impreza in its rougher, granola-crunching Crosstrek form.
The result is a mishmash of three small Subarus that looks like something you’d swear does exist, but doesn’t—officially. Until now. The other oddity is that, having been in Tokyo for the big event for the better part of a week at this point, I have seen a few Levorgs, which are essentially WRX wagons, on the street. Put another way, this Performance-B vehicle is like one of those, only squished lengthwise.
Part of me finds it neat for Subaru to make this, even if it’s a little cruel toward all those hatch-loving WRX fans, and a little late considering the current-gen WRX has been on the market for four years now. The automaker hasn’t even shared any meaningful details about what’s under the hood, other than that it’s a flat-four. No power, no torque, nothing. But it’s got wicked box flares and center-exit dual exhaust over a race-ready diffuser, and that makes enough of a statement for the show floor.
But then I wind up back at the cruel part. Subaru already does this car slow, slow and tall, fast with a trunk, and fast but long. Here, it’s finally settled on the right package—and with an STI badge—but once again, it’s a built for an auto show. Once again, its designers have gone to the trouble of envisaging the very car of their customers’ dreams, and stopping short of mass production. Will this time end differently? You’d love to say yes, but history wouldn’t be on your side.
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Backed by a decade of covering cars and consumer tech, Adam Ismail is a Senior Editor at The Drive, focused on curating and producing the site’s slate of daily stories.