The return of the Subaru WRX STI has been a controversial case for a long time.

The current WRX was revealed to the world in mid-2021, and at the time, Subaru said it would not produce an STI version of the car.

A report from Road and Track in 2022 mentioned that the hottest WRX won't happen due to ongoing regulation changes.

There was even a statement from the company that said that "a next-generation WRX STI with an internal combustion engine will not be produced based on the new WRX platform."

A few years later, Subaru has released several STI concepts and prototypes, and even a limited-edition model that's a half-step between the WRX and STI called the S210.

Recently, the car manufacturer released a preview announcement on Christmas Day featuring a car with the much-revered badge.

Not content with just one advance announcement, Subaru simply posted a second one just a few hours ago at the time of writing this article.

This time, we see the interior, hear a little more of it, and see a few more snippets of the exterior. Nothing too revealing, as usual, but we can make out a few details.

For example, we see a fully digital dashboard that looks a bit different from the WRX. In this case, a high pressure gauge now appears on the screen.

Also, it looks like the car could be manual, based on a quick look at the pedal box.

Lastly, the exhaust system looks a bit larger compared to those fitted to the WRX.

Yes, Subaru included the engine sound in the first announcement, but this time there's more of it.

There is an audible drop in speed when the car shifts gears, and there is also a slight thud of the throttle when shifting gears.

On the other hand, modern automatic cars and even CVTs have reached a point where they mimic manual transmission, so we're a little wary of that.

Back then, it was easier to tell a WRX from an STI. The clues were wider bumpers, different wheels, a larger wing, and a taller engine cover.

Subaru has cleverly hidden all of these details by hiding most of them, tilting them so they're harder to determine, or through messy cuts.

With that, we either have to look for more preliminary information for data, or we have to wait until January 9th for the full reveal.

We're keeping our fingers crossed that it sounds better in real life, and we're crossing our toes that it really does have three pedals.

One thing is for sure: it looks very much based on the current VB WRX platform, even after Subaru said it won't build an STI on it. /Telegraph/

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