The Subaru Impreza WRX STI is high performance specification model of the Subaru Impreza compact car line, manufactured by Japanese automaker Fuji Heavy Industries Subaru.
In 1988, FHI created Subaru Tecnica International (STi) as a its motorsport division to develop and compete in the FIA World Rally Championship and other motorsports activities. Following the introduction of the first generation Impreza in Nov. 1992 and the following year's debut of the Group A rally car into the WRC, an 'STi version' was made commercially available in Jan. 1994 as a homologation model under FIA regulations. Thereafter, subsequent evolutions dubbed STi Version or simply STI were manufactured and sold alongside the Impreza model lineup initially in Japan only and later in selected world markets. As the STi or STI model was typically the highest spec of the Impreza, it has become popular with performance enthusiasts, tuners and amateur racers in many motorsports disciplines especially rallying and circuit driving. Used STI cars usually command a higher resale value and continue to be highly sought after.
FHI has released many different models and versions including special limited editions of the WRX STI. However many of these versions were and are only available in the Japanese Domestic Market. Although the concept behind the STI model is taking a base model such as the Impreza or Legacy and further developing it for high performance, STI models fall mainly into 2 categories. The first is a fully developed and tested model with the purpose of homologating it for motorsports which is sold as a street legal road car. The second is a complete car pre-fitted from the factory with parts that are available from the STI catalogue and marketed as a 'Tuned by STI' model. Spin-off models with mainly cosmetic additions or alterations are also marketed usually in limited quantities.
