It would appear that the Christmas holidays don’t do much to slow things down at Subaru’s performance division, STI. On the very same day that they unveiled the WRX STI Spec C, they also lifted the lid on the WRX STI tS that stands for ‘tuned by STI.’
While the Spec C is based on the hatch version, the tS is built on the four-door GVB/GVF chassis. While it does employ weight saving with a carbon roof and aluminium roof, the tS loses the airplane-grade rear wing which is replaced by a subtle boor lip spoiler instead. Subaru never intended for the tS to be an all out road-going race car but for it to be more of a grown-up version of STI’s offering.
Nonetheless, the tS did go through the full STI training regime with specially tuned suspension beefed up with STI dampers, stiffer springs and strut bars fitted all around. The specially tuned suspension will be tasked with keeping the new 18-inch STI alloy wheels in contact with the ground as much as possible.
Stepping into the working area of the tS and you’ll be greeted by red-stitched Recaros wit the usual array of STI and tS emblems all around. The tS version also receives a bright red key fob to set it apart from the base STI.
Only 400 of the tS cars will be built and sold between January 25 and March 14. Buyers can opt for either a 6-speed manual attached to the 2-liter force-fed boxer or a 5-speed slushbox that is mated to the 2.5-liter turboed boxer engine.
Sounds about perfect for crusing down the road on New Years’s eve then right? Well only if you live in Japan. That’s right folks, the tS is another Japan-only version that we will only get to lust upon in the deepest of our sleeps.
Source: 7Tune
