- Subaru has revealed the Performance-E STI Concept at the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo.
- It's a very aggressive, futuristic and rally-inspired fastback that may preview a future performance EV.
- No word on specifications or the intent to produce something like this, but Subaru is looking to launch more exciting EVs, so there may be a chance.
The Subaru Performance-E STI Concept has to be the most aggressive-looking electric concept to debut at the 2025 Japan Mobility Show. It’s purely a show car—it doesn’t even have an interior—but it shows Subaru’s intention to inject some sportiness back into the brand, which is mostly missing from the current lineup, especially among its EVs.
The concept “represents the future of the performance scene, spearheading Subaru's new generation” and has a “driver-friendly layout and a comfortable, spacious interior.” Subaru adds that this BEV study “offers intuitive, exhilarating driving experiences,” which makes us hopeful that something like this will make production in the not-too-distant future.
Gallery: Subaru Performance-E STI Concept (2025) at the Japan Mobility Show 2025
In terms of design, the Performance-E STI nails the look of a sporty, low-slung fastback that looks like it’s doing 150 mph while sitting still. It should have power to match its looks, although Subaru hasn’t confirmed how much oomph it actually has. We can expect it to have at least two electric motors, giving it all-wheel-drive capability that earned STI-badged vehicles their renown.
Subaru is looking at electrification as a way to bring back performance into its lineup, especially in Europe, where its sportiest cars were killed off because of increasingly stringent emissions regulations. But with an EV, you can have 1,000 horsepower and produce no local emissions, making it very attractive for Subaru.
Talking to Autocar in April, Subaru’s European Boss David Dello Stritto said “We're working on more sporty models, and electrification allows us to do this,” but stopped short of saying what those models were. He added that “it's nice to have that prospect of a future WRC STI—super-fast, gold wheels, blue color. This is what we want, at the end of the day,” and he’s definitely not wrong there.
If this concept is any indication of the kinds of electric performance cars that Subaru has planned, consider our eyebrows raised.
Subaru’s electrification has so far only been linked to Toyota. All the EVs it currently has on offer are based around Toyota underpinnings, batteries, motors and tech. This partnership will continue into the future, but Subaru is also working on its own in-house-developed EVs. In 2024, it revealed plans to launch eight new EVs by 2028 and only four of them would be co-developed with Toyota.
Maybe the production version of the new EV concept is one of them, and we would also like to see the two-door Sport Mobility concept become a series model too.
