Posted Thursday, July 3, 2025 at 10:45pm
The Subaru WRX STi was a thing to behold back in the day, and not just because of the garish wing on the back that stood tall enough to bifurcate a driver’s rear view.
When it debuted in the 2004 model year, its 2.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder boxer churned out what was then a monumental 120 hp per liter. It was a big deal to reach the 300-hp threshold with such a small engine—not so much anymore.
The engine was raspy and loud and it set aflutter the hearts of many a young aspiring rally racer, and most of the fun—besides smacking the 7,000-rpm redline—came from rowing the gears of the six-speed manual transmission.
