Subaru WRX STi EJ20 Final Edition marks end of the Rex’s JDM engine

While Subaru is yet to make any public moves towards a next-gen Subaru WRX STi, we can now safely say the Japanese market version of the STi won’t have the same engine it does now.

That’s right, after 30 years of Subaru producing the 2.0-litre flat four known as EJ20, the motor is set to be taken out to pasture this year.

Currently the powerplant for the JDM version of the WRX STi, and not available in the car anywhere else in the world, the EJ20 first powered the Subaru Legacy in 1989 and will only be available in new STis up until the end of December 2019. After this, Subaru Japan will no longer accept orders for the current generation WRX STi.

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But, to celebrate the EJ20’s three-decade service to Subaru, the brand is offering the Japanese market a total of 555 units of a special edition STi, the Subaru WRX STi EJ20 Final Edition.

A Japanese press release also says the models will be available to interested buyer via a lottery, which will randomly (we assume) select the 555 lucky buyers.

The number of cars available is a reference to the brand which sponsored what is arguably the most iconic rally car of all time, Colin McRae’s WRX.

Thus, the EJ20 is also finished in Subaru’s famous blue/gold colour combination, with a set of BBS wheels also used on the WRX STi S209 announced for the US market at the beginning of 2019.

The engine specifications for the EJ Final Edition haven’t yet been confirmed, but it can be expected it’ll pack more power than a standard EJ-powered Subie.

STis in other markets, such as our own, will reportedly keep the same running gear as they’ve currently got, so don’t hold your breath for a new WRX to pop up any time soon.