2022 Subaru WRX at Lightning Lap 2023

From the February/March 2023 issue of Car and Driver.

Lap Time: 3:11.6

Class: LL1 | Base: $33,100 | As-Tested: $37,490
Power and Weight: 271 hp • 3402 lb • 12.6 lb/hp
Tires: Dunlop SP Sport Maxx GT 600A; 245/40R-18 97Y

We’ve heard plenty of grousing about the new Subaru WRX. The cladding is ugly. Its 271-hp turbocharged 2.4-liter flat-four is only three ponies better than the old 2.0-liter. It weighs more. It’s too civilized.

After pounding around VIR’s Grand Course, we no longer care. The new WRX is 3.9 seconds quicker than the fourth-gen 2015 WRX was when it debuted. A 2018 WRX with the Performance package was only a tenth quicker than the new car despite having upgrades this year’s WRX could have put to good use: track-worthy high-performance brake pads, grippy Recaro seats, and less weight up high thanks to a sunroof delete.

Hidden changes tell the tale. Subaru’s new platform boasts 28 percent greater torsional rigidity and 75 percent better suspension mounting-point stiffness. New front and rear anti-roll bar mounting schemes increase roll stiffness, and there’s more suspension travel. This translates to 0.92 g of grip in Turn 1, which is slightly below the 2018’s 0.94, but not so low that we ever broke stride attacking VIR’s curbs.

But the new car’s laps weren’t without drama. To improve street drivability, Subaru tightened up the gearbox, scooching third, fourth, and fifth gears closer to second. This is fine on its own, but it did exacerbate another significant change: The 2.4’s redline is just 6100 rpm instead of the old engine’s 6700 revs. Top speed at redline in third is now 80 mph instead of 92, with fourth maxing out at 106 instead of 124 mph.

Our quick lap featured 20 gearchanges. All three fast sections—the Front Straight, the Climbing Esses, and the run into Bitch—now require a mandatory snick into fifth, and there were three nuisance 3-4-3 swaps through Spiral and the Infield instead of the GTI’s focused run in third.

Considering its modest horsepower, the unflappable new WRX is surprisingly quick around VIR. But it could do better with a higher redline so we could run the Grand Course with less shifting. Maybe we’ll try the CVT next year (just kidding).

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