√2024 Subaru WRX TR special edition to be unveiled next month

What could form the basis of a 30th birthday present to the Subaru WRX in Australia has been teased, a special edition with new wheels, upgraded brakes and Recaro sports seats for the US.

UPDATE, 3 October 2023: Subaru USA has published a new teaser image for the 2024 Subaru WRX TR, showing its Recaro sports front seats.

Recaro front seats are available in the current WRX line-up, but they are available in the CVT automatic-only tS flagship model (sold in the US as the GT) – and not available with a manual transmission.

Our original story continues unchanged below. The 2024 Subaru WRX TR is due to be unveiled on October 7, US time.

29 September 2023: A “sharper and more enthusiast-focused” special edition of the 2024 Subaru WRX is due to be unveiled next weekend, known as the TR, for the US market.

The TR name – short for “Tuner Ready” – was last used on a WRX in 2006 to denote a stripped-out special edition with fewer luxury features and a lower price, intended for buyers planning to upgrade the car with ‘aftermarket’ parts.

However the new WRX TR may not be as sparsely equipped, if a teaser image published by Subaru – showing unique, possibly larger alloy wheels, and upgraded Brembo brakes with red calipers – is a guide.

And it is unclear if it will come to Australia, as the vehicle – due to be unveiled on October 7, US time – has only been teased for the US market so far.

Spy photographers captured the TR edition testing earlier this year, with the wheels and brakes in the teaser – though no other visible changes compared to the standard WRX.

It remains to be seen if there will be any Subaru Tecnica International branding on the car to help fill the hole left by the WRX STI performance flagship, after plans for a new model based on the latest WRX were suddenly scrapped last year.

Also unclear is if there will be any more power from the 2.4-litre turbocharged four-cylinder ‘boxer’ petrol engine, which in the standard car in Australia and the US produces 202kW and 350Nm.

The regular WRX is available with a six-speed manual or continuously-variable automatic transmission, though the TR’s “enthusiast-focused” billing suggests it may be manual-only.

Next year is the 30th anniversary of the Subaru WRX in Australia, which was released here in 1994 – though it didn’t arrive in the US until 2001.

Subaru Australia boss Blair Read told Drive earlier this year: “We don’t comment on future model plans but next year is 30 years of WRX and … you’d want bring something good to the party.”

When asked about the types of upgrades a WRX 30th anniversary edition could bring, Mr Read said: “There are a few good enhancements at work. This will do justice to the WRX nameplate.”

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