Subaru marks 30 years of STI: in pictures

On April 2, 1988, Subaru Tecnica International was born.

Then known as STi, though it recently capitalised the ‘i’, the performance division of Subaru was preparing its boxer-powered Subaru Legacy RS RA to kick off a legacy of its own.

In January of 1989, the Legacy RS RA set a new FIA World Speed Endurance Record for 100,000km. It drove for 20 days on track in Arizona, setting an average speed of 222km/h.

But the ‘90s was going to start a whole new ear of motorsport, particularly off the tarmac, led by STI. With the Impreza WRC car, Colin McRae became a legend.

The WRX became a road-going racer, and dominated the gravel in rally car guise.

So much so, that Subaru won manufacturers’ titles in 1995, 1996, and 1997, making Subaru the first Japanese company to win it for three consecutive years.

Overall, Subaru boasts 47 WRC manufacturer wins thanks to STI’s development, which eventually ended up finding its way into Subie’s street cars.

Perhaps the best known specific example of racing technology making it into a road-going Subaru was the WRX STi 22B.

According to Subaru USA fewer than 400 22Bs were built, though it’s believed 425 (or 424 if the mythical build #13 doesn’t actually exist) were built with the final 25 cars were for export from Japan.

Up until 2008, Subaru was a force to be reckoned with in rally, with the legacy of cars like the 22B and… well, the Legacy, pushing it along.

Even though it was on the decline, having not taken a manufacturer’s title since 1997, or a driver’s championship win since Petter Solberg’s 2003 victory, Subaru still had a presence.

But the WRX STI hasn’t changed a whole lot in the last ten non-WRC years, leading critics to call it outdated.

Still, there’s always the next WRX – or whatever the Subaru Viziv STI Concept turns into – to keep us hanging on.