absolutely impressed with the car...but sales manager wouldn't let us drive. he took me and my buddy out instead.

the excitement started this afternoon when i was driving on my normal route, waiting at a stoplight in the company car. i looked in my rear-view and see a black car with a pinkish "sti" on the grill set between 2 wrx-looking headlights. i'm thinking no way, so i had to turn and look again turning my back this time, and sure enough, it was...the new STI

anxiously excited to get a better view at green, i rolled down my window to hear it roar past me, and my first reaction was *beautiful*...it swapped lanes around a few cars and was gone...no paper plates, no nothing. i thought damn lot-techs!...probably drove my R off the boat the same way

anyway, as i watched it sprint past me and traffic, the sun hit the shiny black paint and i saw gold-pearl beam off it in a blur...i was excited.

as soon as i got off work, me and a buddy rode off to the nearest subaru dealer and sure enough, white, silver and stories of two blue ones sold earlier today greeted us.

all i can say about the car visually is i was very very impressed, and the hype leading up to the sti's arrival was in my opinion "will not disappoint"(we haven't even driven it yet at this point). i slowly studied the exterior of the white one parked outside surrounded by gawkers like myself...gold bbs wheels, gold brembo calipers, mugen-like wing, real pink sti emblems...hids too if i'm not mistaken.

the interior didn't disappoint either. special material blue sti covered seats, red-stitched sti steering wheel, hand-brake, fancy six-speed shifter...the thing i like most about it was the factory block-off plate for the stereo. that's right, no sounds for a race inspired, driver-oriented track/rally animal this simple deletion impressed me the most, and its silly, but it just reinforces to me the philosophy behind the car's inception. at this moment, i could see many beloved type-r's possibly being found in subaru used car lots in the next coming coming weeks

under the hood were more sti-specific components, but i'm not an expert on what the manager told me was a "300" hp engine. 2.5 rs motor with turbo is all i got.

*no test-drives* was what me and my buddy and a few admirers got from the guy...but we finally convinced the sales manager to atleast take us out, for the reason why we were there was to see if the car would be better than the g35 my buddy is waiting for...the manager drove us around the block, my friend up front, me in the back.

suspension felt firm and assured, especially after the first corner. the guy set the shift point timer to 4K, (cell-phone like beep) so we didn't hit red, but the car did pull very nicely without hesitation...i could only imagine what the car would feel like at higher rpms up, but atleast we got to ride in it tonight and get a taste.

if i didn't love my R so much, i'd be in line. if i had the extra money, i'd be in line. the nice thing about it too is the price...no $10K mark-up over msrp like the evo its gonna be hard to get a break though where i am due to the high demand. they sold several today.

my buddy is still getting the infinity...still a good choice. but the sti...wow

 

So it has finally arrived I will have to check it out

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by picasso &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">under the hood were more sti-specific components, but i'm not an expert on what the manager told me was a "300" hp engine. 2.5 rs motor with turbo is all i got.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

I think the manager is mistaken. It's a U.S. only 3.0L boxer motor, isn't it? Unless, Subaru Japan has all of sudden decide to send JDM STi to the U.S.

Hope to see these beasts soon on the streets, autoX & track.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by picasso &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">no $10K mark-up over msrp like the evo </TD></TR></TABLE>

I just want to comment that that is not a mandatory markup and there are numerous dealerships selling for MSRP. And also, there is a nationwide boycott of any dealership selling the EVO VIII(Which I dubbed the EVO 7.5) beyond the MSRP.

Boycott List: http://www.evolutionm.net/misc....html
MSRP List: http://www.evolutionm.net/mode...t.php

I don't want this to start another STi vs. EVO8 discussion, just wanted to inform you guys.

Thanks,

Len

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Cosworth &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I think the manager is mistaken. It's a U.S. only 3.0L boxer motor, isn't it? Unless, Subaru Japan has all of sudden decide to send JDM STi to the U.S.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Sean, from the information I gathered, it is indeed a 2.5Liter Boxer motor.

Official Press release: http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-...EDATE=

 

Thanks for the correction, Len.

p.s. I will pick up the parts on Monday morning. I guess you're not working on Sat.

 

Dealer name? And what state are you in? I work for Subie and they tell us that it won't hit the ground for another 45 days?

 

I was told they are gonna be rare

 

6500 per year is the rumored production number for this year. Rarer than most cars yes but nowhere near as rare as something like an R. Visit your Subaru dealership today !

If anyone hadn't already heard the price is $31,545 including dest. charge. One of the other guys in MM (and he's on honda-tech) put his deposit down last week so we'll have a report in a few more weeks (June or July methinks).

-G

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by H-PIMP &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Dealer name? And what state are you in? I work for Subie and they tell us that it won't hit the ground for another 45 days? </TD></TR></TABLE>hehe...sorry H, i forgot to mention i'm in hawaii sharing the sun with a famous R forum mod who i hope gets to see one before they are all sold this weekend ...i guess maybe because of our proximity to japan, we already have the car, which is why i didn't believe it too at first

the manager said people on the continent are blowing up the phones...i asked how many 04's he was expecting, and i believe he said we will be receiving atleast 18 more in the next 3-4 months, which is an enormous amount compared to the R population on the islands where we have maybe 10? in a capital of a million people. my buddy said he'd buy my R in a second if i decided on the sube, but not yet. the subaru is exciting yes, but i can't ever part with #510. hopefully the excitement will still be there when i pay off the R in a couple years, and maybe i'll get the sti as a daily mule...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Cosworth &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

I think the manager is mistaken. It's a U.S. only 3.0L boxer motor, isn't it? Unless, Subaru Japan has all of sudden decide to send JDM STi to the U.S.

Hope to see these beasts soon on the streets, autoX & track. </TD></TR></TABLE>


you're mistaken. the USDM STi has a 2.5 Boxer 4cyl turbo, every other market in the world has the 2.0 Boxer 4cyl turbo STi motor....

 

Wow! They landed in the islands already? Great write up... what dealer were they at? May have to trip over to Oahu to check them out.

I've been following the STI for some time now, but have concerns with reliability in comparision to the R. They should definitly be a step (or two) above the R in performance, but what good is that if it spends most of it's life at the dealer getting fixed?

And you're right, if I were to try selling the R in Hawaii, there are people already lined up for my car, too.

Any hints as to how much they were selling these at?

 

make the trip kelly ...nah, you guys should see the cars soon, i'm sure.
the salesman said about 33 out the door from what the other were selling for earler in the day, but we didn't do the paperwork to confirm.

i thought about this car all night before i went to bed, just as i did before i bought my R. can't wait to hear other reviews, especially from proud new owners

 

that's sweet

 

cost sucks, i would buy an M3 for that price.

 

What exactly does the intercooler water spray button do? Where does it get the water, and where does it spray? I am so hyped for the STi, I've wanted one of the super-mega rally edition WRX's since before the WRX even came to the states, the STi finally being offered is like a dream come true

 

Could somebody post some pics of these (black or blue) I am not sure what the STI looks like.

 

you find me an e46 m3 for 32K...fat chance and plus the maintenance is higher on the bmw...my buddy has one and is paying a lot just to let the dealer change his oil so it wont void his warranty...and 10w60 oil can only be bought at the dealer or online and is not cheap.

 

 

One more...the good stuff.

 

i was at the track here on oahu last night when the announcer said that there was a WRX STi sitting in the parking lot. thinking that he was full of ****, i ignored him. later, while walking over to the concession stand, we passed by a brand new blue WRX. again, not thinking anything of it, i didn't even give it a second look. when walking back from the concession, i noticed the giant gold brembo calipers in the front. holy crap! it IS an STi! the sticker read $33,xxx and had no paper plates or anything. the guy that was driving the car was pitting for another guy that was running a camaro so no times for the STi as of yet. nice looking car. hmmm....if i sell all my honda crap...my dog...and maybe work the street corners on the weekends...

 

money shot!

 

Actually, many dealerships ARE marking up the MSRP of the STi. They are marking them up anywhere from $500-$10,000. Just as Len posted about the Evo8 boycott, some disgruntled Subaru owners/admirers are boycotting the mark-up as well.

Edit: Here's some more pictures of the STi in different colors. I've seen some other pictures, but I cannot find them. Anyone have more pictures of the Java Black Pearl? http://www.i-club.com/forums/s...16828

 

White/gold looks real nice...




-kenji

 

I SO want that car!!!

Does anyone know if the car is slated to be only produced in limited numbers, or will they produce as many as people will buy?