Subaru STI previews its EV future – and it’s fast

Japanese car maker Subaru’s tuning division STI (Subaru Tecnica International) has unveiled two concepts including a track-focussed sports car that demonstrate its commitment to performance driving in the electrified era.

That’s great news for fans of STI, which is best known for its tuned flagship versions of the famous all-wheel drive turbo-petrol WRX, as it signals a strong future for the pink-badged Subaru division in the electric era.

Maybe a hybrid or electric WRX STI is on the way!

The star STI reveal at Tokyo’s Auto Salon was the STI E-RA Challenge Project, which looks like a Le Mans 24-hour racer and has been set the task of lapping the infamous ‘Green Hell’ Nurburgring long course in 400 seconds, or 6 minutes 40 seconds.

‘RA’ by the way, is a traditional Subaru and STI nomenclatue that means ‘Record Attempt’. It has applied to some of the most lusted-after limited edition performance models they have released.

The other exploratory EV was the Solterra STI Concept. It is based on Subaru’s first production electric vehicle, which is yet to be confirmed for Australia but is expected to come here in 2022 or 2023.

Unveiled last November, the Subaru Solterra is a very close relation of the Toyota bZ4X. It could also be the first front-wheel drive model Subaru sells in Australia since 1998.

READ MORE: The Subaru Solterra could end an Aussie AWD tradition
EV FAQ: Your electric car questions answered
EV YEAR AHEAD: Every new electric car coming to Australia in 2022

Only limited information was released about the Solterra STI Concept, but what was highlighted was cosmetics including a roof siler and cherry-red under spoilers.

Hopefully, the Solterra STI also gets some performance mods and becomes a production model, like the WRX STI.

That was certainly hinted at in the statement accompanying the E-RA reveal.

“STI will continue to strive in motorsports to refine our technology to keep creating cars that allow our customers to enjoy driving endlessly while feeling safe and comfortable. We will also utilise the insight gained from this project as an initiative for a future electrified society.

“STI will continue to create new values so that cars will remain enjoyable, and which enrich the lives of our customers in an increasingly decarbonised world, for all Subarus.”　

STI confirmed the STI E-RA racer has an 800kW quad-motor all-wheel drive drivetrain fed by a 60kWh lithium-ion battery pack.

Developed by Yamaha for “hyper EVs”, the motors are a high-revolution type with an integrated inverter and a gear.

The concept includes four-wheel torque vectoring to deliver maximum grip and body stability by independently feeding optimum torque to each wheel. It does this by calculating sensor date for wheel speed, vehicle speed, steering angle, G-force, yaw rate, brake pressure, and wheel load.

STI went for the in-wheel electric motor design because of the benefits it delivered handling, but also with an eye to the future as this technical rule is proposed for a new global E-GT sportscar racing class expected to commence in 2023.

STI did not quote any performance capabilities for the E-RA concept, but a 6 minute 40 second lap would be the second fastest ever for an EV around the famous 21km track, behind the Volkswagen ID R, which set a 6:05.336 time in June 2019.

It would also mean an average speed close to 200km/h. That’s flying; by way of comparison a V8 Supercar averages about 180km/h on a qualifying lap of Bathurst’s Mount Panorama. The STI Concept is expected to have its first crack at the ‘Ring in 2023 after testing in Japan in 2022.