For about a period of five months, Japan residents will get to procure a specially tuned and package STI-souped up WRX S4 tS. For a cool starting price of 4,968,000 Yen, or about US$48,330 plus tax, the limited edition WRX S4 tS will inherit some of the S207’s performance DNA, including a modified air intake and exhaust that bumps up the torque by 10 percent, added oil cooler that enhances the cooling performance of the Sport Lineartronic, flexible tower bar, DampMatic II front suspension with adjustable damping, front-rear Active Torque Vectoring, Brembo opposing piston 4-pot brakes (front only, btw) – just to name a few.
Visual appearance is bolstered by a set of STI-designed BBS 19-inch forged aluminum wheels, mesh-type front grille and rear bumper accented with cherry red pinstripe, larger front under spoiler, black ‘shark fin’ roof antenna, and the obligatory STI badging, just so your competition at the lights know. The badge can found on the sides too, just to be sure.
The interior also gets its due treatment, including exclusive luminescent instruments with STI logo, of course, leather-wrapped steering wheel, STI leather-wrapped shift knob, STI push button engine switch, heated STI-spec Recaro front bucket seats emblazoned with STI logo, black leather with silver stitching rear seats, and exclusive instrument panel and sill plates. There’s also a NBR Challenge Package which adds the black version of the said forged aluminum rolling stocks, dry carbon rear spoiler, addition emblem at the rear, and replaces leather with ultrasuede for the steering wheel.
The rest of the specs are pretty much the same. Meaning a 2L turbocharged FA20 4-pot cylinder motor boasting 300 PS (296 hp) and 400 Nm (295 lb-ft) of torque. And it is, of course, AWD. All sounds pretty dope, but Lineartronic? Really? I guess traffic must be bad in Japan that makes stick shifter impractical. I don’t know. Just maybe.
Images: Subaru Tecnica International [JP].
