New 2024 Subaru Impreza gets STI appearance package at the Tokyo Auto Salon

The 2023 edition of the Tokyo Auto Salon is under way, and Subaru traveled to the event to showcase a new 2024 Impreza fitted with an STI-branded appearance package. The parts give the hatchback a meaner-looking design but it sounds like the flat-four remains stock.

Finished in a head-turning shade of orange, the design study gains a front splitter, side skirts, and a pair of round exhaust outlets that poke out from a redesigned rear diffuser. Look really closely and you’ll notice a subtle “STI” emblem positioned above the exhaust tips — we’re miles away from the vents and wings that Subaru used to put on its STI-developed cars. Black wheels add a finishing touch to the look.

Subaru hasn’t revealed whether there are STI-developed bits and pieces in the suspension system and there’s no mention of further mechanical changes. Offered exclusively as a hatchback, the American-market 2024 Impreza comes standard with a 2.0-liter flat-four carried over from the last-generation model and rated at 152 horsepower and 145 pound-feet of torque. Buyers who want more power can step up to the RS trim, which benefits from a 2.5-liter flat-four shared with the Crosstrek and tuned to develop 182 horsepower and 178 pound-feet of torque.

It’s too early to tell if the STI appearance package will reach production, let alone if it will be offered in the United States. If you want a real STI-tuned Impreza, you’re out of luck: while a new WRX made its debut in 2022, the range-topping WRX STI will not return to the line-up.