Subaru farewells EJ20 engine with special edition Japan only WRX STI

Subaru has said goodbye to its long-serving EJ20 engine by unveiling a special edition version of the WRX STI at the Tokyo Motor Show.

Dubbed the WRX STI EJ20 Final Edition, the farewell tribute to an engine that has been available in various formats and power outputs since 1989 will be restricted to Japan, and receive a series of upgrades over the STI Type S on which it is based.

Externally, the EJ20 comes with Cherry Red detailing on the grille and diffuser, the iconic gold BBS 19-inch alloy wheels wrapped in 245/33 rubber, black mirror caps and 18-inch red Brembo ventilated disc brakes with a six-piston caliper setup at the front and two-pistons at the rear.

Just as subtle is the interior that boasts Recaro sport seats trimmed in leather/faux suede with silver stitching and red STI seatbacks, a suede steering wheel, silver seatbelts and suede inserts on the door caps.

Up front, the 2.0-litre turbocharged EJ20 engine in question has remained unchanged with outputs of 227kW/422Nm, sent to all four wheels through the brand’s rally-derived Symmetrical All-Wheel-Drive system via a six-speed manual gearbox.

In another tribute to the past, this time long-time World Rally Championship sponsor State Express 555, the EJ20 will be limited to 555 units with pricing from ¥4 110 000 (R554 221).

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