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According to a recent report, the next-generation Subaru WRX STI will be electrified.

Speaking to Dutch website AutoRAI, Subaru Europe’s sales and marketing manager David Dello Stritto said the current WRX STI’s 2.5-liter turbocharged boxer engine “can simply not exist in the future.” That means it will likely be replaced by a plug-in hybrid powertrain that could open some new possibilities for the sports sedan. For example, Subaru could use electric motors to power the rear wheels, while retaining a boxer engine so the WRX STI doesn’t lose its entire soul.

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It will be some time before the hybrid WRX STI is introduced however. There will be a gap when the current-generation WRX STI exits the lineup and the new model is introduced, while Subaru works on the hybrid powertrain. “There will really be a new WRX STI in the future, but it takes time,” added Dello Stritto. “We’re not giving up on ‘fun to drive.’ The new Impreza delivers this fun in a different, more sensible, CO2 emissions-complaint way.”

Dello Stritto was careful to not explicitly say the next WRX STI will be hybrid, but suggested as much. Considering the next WRX will be underpinned by the new Subaru Global Platform, it would makes sense for it to take advantage of electrification since the platform was engineered with hybrids in mind.

[Source: AutoRAI via Autocar]

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