Payne: Auto performance icons roll toward electric speed bump

Posted by Talbot Payne on March 21, 2022

Now everyone is paying attention.

Auto brands have largely teased their electric ambitions with new halo nameplates — the Cadillac Lyriq, Ford Mustang Mach-E, BMW iX — aimed at niche, green customers. But other brands are taking big risks by converting gas-powered halo models to electrification. The latest bombshell came from Subaru last week when the automaker announced it will not make its highly-anticipated WRX STI performance icon on its current Global Platform — saying it has been delayed for a future, likely-electrified platform.

The Subaru WRX STI at speed at Laguna Seca Raceway at its 2014 introduction. The long-awaited next-gen STI has been delayed by electrification plans.

The news about the WRX STI, which has defined Subaru’s off-road rally spirit as an all-wheel-drive, high-wing, high-horsepower hellion, comes on top of news that Dodge and Porsche will be going all-electric with their next-generation Challenger and Cayman sports cars, respectively. The moves risk alienating loyal owner bases that have prized roaring, internal-combustion V-8 and flat-6 engines.

“Subaru is focused on how our future performance cars should evolve to meet the needs of the changing marketplace and the regulations and requirements for greenhouse gasses,” the company said in a brief statement. “As part of that effort, Subaru is exploring opportunities for the next generation WRX STI, including electrification. In the meantime, a next generation internal combustion engine WRX STI will not be produced.”

The news was met with a storm of protest from customers.

“Have no desire for an EV STI,” said “STIag,” a longtime owner, in a typical post on IW STI Forum, a popular website dedicated to Subaru enthusiasts. “The niche of the STI is the culture, the personalization, the love. Sad day. RIP STI.”

Subaru’s news comes in the wake of Dodge’s announcement at the November Los Angeles Auto Show that it is ending production next year of its legendary, V8-powered Hellcat Challenger and Charger amid a transition to electrified EV, hybrid and plug-in drivetrains. The supercharged, 700-plus horsepower muscle cars have defined the brand in recent years, driving a boom in Dodge sales as Hellcat V-8s are stuffed into everything from two-door coupes to three-row SUVs.

Car and Driver reports that the electric Porsche Mission R concept is the prototype for the next-gen Cayman/Boxster EV.

Porsche’s mid-engine Boxster convertible and Cayman sports cars are also going all-electric, according to enthusiast publication Car and Driver. While Porsche has refused comment on the report, the magazine writes that the Boxster/Cayman design “was previewed by the Mission R concept car at the 2021 Munich auto show.” Porsche has touted the battery-powered Mission R as a prototype for a coming race program.

Cayman/Boxster sales have declined in the U.S. since 2016, when Porsche last bowed to emissions regulations by replacing its screaming flat-6 with a less-emotional turbo-4 cylinder.

Other manufacturers have been less eager to alter icons. Nissan, for example, is bringing to market an all-new twin-turbo V-6 Nissan Z for 2023, and Corvette’s coming Z06 performance model will boast a record 670 horsepower for a normally-aspirated gas engine.

Some performance halos are resisting the EV trend. The all-new, 2023 Nissan Z will be powered by a twin-turbo V-6.

Brands are taking a fresh look at their lineups in the face of historic efforts by governments — including in the U.S. — to dictate which drivetrains automakers use. Automakers have in the past produced a variety of alternatives to mainstay gas engines to balance regulations and consumer demand: diesel, hybrid, ethanol. Governments are now demanding zero-emission vehicles, narrowing the choice to electric and hydrogen power.

“We have seen this game before about 50 years ago,” said veteran iSeeCars auto analyst Karl Brauer. “In the 1970s, cars got more powerful before forces outside the industry — government regulations, gas prices — forced a fast decline in performance from 1975-1980. It feels sadly familiar again today.”

Last remade in 2015, the Subaru WRX STI had been eagerly awaited by fans as it promised gains from the brand’s capable Global Platform. Owner “CT Boost” at the STI forum was disappointed: “The truth of the matter is nobody besides the Left wants electric sports cars. They want to control everything we drive.”

Industry executives like Dodge boss Tim Kuniskis promise that — unlike the ’70s — the electric future will bring more capable chariots.

The V8-powered Dodge Challenger SRT Jailbreak boasts 807 horsepower. It will be replaced in 2023 by an electrified lineup.

“People are really nervous about (electrification),” Kuniskis told The News last fall. “(But) power isn’t going away. We’re going to show a concept of our all-electric muscle car. We’re going to . . . redefine American muscle.”

Subaru, too, assured that the next WRX STI will be a revelation: “The STI brand represent(s) the zenith of Subaru’s performance vehicles exemplifying Subaru’s unique DNA and rally heritage. As we look to the future, we also look forward to incorporating the essence of STI into our next generation of vehicles.”

Some members of the STI forum were encouraged by Subaru’s evolution. “I am excited to see what Subaru will put together. For those who say you can’t make an EV or hybrid sports car — have you heard of Ferrari, Porsche, McLaren?” wrote “Hordeolum.” “Subaru looking forward, not backward.”

The company has also acknowledged the difficulties of incorporating high-cost, low-range batteries into an affordable brand catering to long-distance adventure seekers. Subaru, like most non-Tesla brands, has had little demand for EVs — but faces escalating U.S. fines beginning in 2026 if it doesn’t sell zero-emission vehicles. Its first EV, the Solterra, arrives this year as a joint-venture with Toyota to save costs.

“If we designed (a new STI) now, it would have a very limited shelf life,” Subaru spokesman Dominick Infante told Road & Track. “The regulations are changing so quickly that it kind of wouldn’t make any sense.”

It makes sense, said analyst Brauer, for some automakers to reconsider their performance lineups given the uncertain regulatory and gas price future.

“The answer is that sales to enthusiast brand die-hards will take a hit,” said Brauer. “But that’s a smaller hit than they are facing from government emissions penalties.”

Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.

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