Subaru is planning to offer performance models in its future full electric line-up – which could include new sports cars in the vein of the Impreza STI and BRZ.

The brand gained a huge cult following for its rally-honed performance machines in the early 1990s, and also enjoyed success with the BRZ sports car that was launched in 2012 as a twin to the Toyota GT86. 

In recent years the firm has focused its efforts on rugged SUVs, and has withdrawn all of its performance models from Europe due to emissions regulations. 

But speaking at the unveiling of the new Trailseeker EV at the New York Auto Show, Subaru Europe boss David Dello Stritto said that “there are plans to bring back the sportiness in Subaru”. 

While he declined to elaborate on specifics, he added: “If you ask me to sum up what Subaru means for customers in Europe right now, it’s three letters: SFT - safe, fun and tough. Those values are why our customers in Europe are loyal and keep coming back to us. 

“But there’s a fourth pillar I’ve been missing to sell in Europe for the last 10 years and that’s P, for power and performance. Ask the average person what Subaru means and they’ll say STI. You can’t disassociate this from Subaru.

“So we need to bring sportiness back to Subaru. Right now, we couldn’t do it: Europe says you can’t, because you have a GPF [gasoline particulate filter] that can literally choke your engine.”

That issue won’t be a problem for electric cars, and Subaru is already looking at what it can do in the electric performance sphere having shown off the radical, 1073bhp STI E-RA in 2022.

Dello Stritto said: “With an EV you’ve got the power and performance, and you’ve got an all-wheel drive system. We’re working on more sporty models, and electrification allows us to do this.

“Let's face it, it's nice to have that prospect of a future WRC STI – super-fast, gold wheels, blue colour. This is what we want, at the end of the day.”

Subaru currently has a partnership with Toyota to jointly develop electric cars: its first EV, the Solterra - which was recently updated – is based on the bZ4X and the new Trailseeker EV uses the same jointly developed platform. 

While Subaru is due to start producing its new EVs from 2028 onwards, the partnership with Toyota is set to continue, raising the prospect that the two firms could share a platform for a future sports car, as they did with the BRZ and GT86. 

Toyota has already shown off a future electric sports car concept in the form of the FT-SE. The Japanese brand is also developing a new 2.0-litre engine that would help hybridised GR sports cars so they can be sold in greater numbers in markets such as Europe where emission regulations limit sales.

Asked by Autocar if this relationship could help with the development of a future Subaru performance car, Dello Stritto said “of course, yes”, although he declined to comment if that would be with technological development or a full model.