Subaru STi returns at Tokyo Motor Show 2025 with Performance-E STi Concept and Performance-B STi Concept

Gareth J. Hargreaves • August 27, 2026 20:17

There is no denying it: the STi badge - Subaru Tecnica International - is one of the most iconic acronyms in the car industry. For decades, it has marked out Subaru’s most extreme road-going models, packed with rally-derived technology.

That badge is now set to return to Subaru, albeit with a different “twist”. As the saying goes, “times change, and so do desires”. At the Tokyo Motor Show 2025, the brand unveiled the first contenders to wear the STi letters again - and for the first time, one of them will be fully electric.

Subaru Performance-E STi Concept: an all-electric STi direction

Called the Subaru Performance-E STi Concept, the prototype “represents the future of the performance universe, leading Subaru’s new generation”, according to the company’s statement.

For now, technical information is limited. Even so, Subaru says it was shaped by the firm’s sporting heritage, with a driver-focused layout, four-wheel drive, and a cabin designed to be both spacious and comfortable.

Design and rally heritage cues

Visually, the Subaru Performance-E STi concept blends athletic proportions with aerodynamic efficiency. Key features include crisp, sculpted surfaces, a new lighting signature, and large air intakes in the front bumper.

It also wears a dark blue finish, gold wheels and pink accents - a nod to the Subaru Impreza 555 in which Colin McRae won the World Rally Championship, a triumph that marks its 30th anniversary in 2025.

Internal combustion is not forgotten

However, the Performance-E STi Concept was not Subaru’s only headline at the Tokyo Motor Show 2025. The brand also introduced the Performance-B STi Concept, which draws inspiration from the current Impreza on sale in Japan and in select European markets.

This one, by contrast, appears closer to production. Autocar suspects it will pair a boxer engine with Subaru’s symmetrical all-wheel-drive system - two hallmarks that have defined the brand’s identity for decades.

Even so, the technical details remain “a secret of the gods”, while Subaru simply says the model was conceived to “offer more customers the joy of driving”.

When will it arrive?

Despite the buzz surrounding the return of the STi badge, there is still no timeline for production versions.

In any case, Subaru continues to operate in various European markets, but Portugal is not among them - and there is no indication that will change in the near future.