Subaru WRX 2022: manual transmission confirmed amid delays

Subaru has indirectly confirmed the WRX sports sedan will arrive with a traditional manual transmission option in a teaser video released on social media.

The WRX was set to be launched at the New York Auto Show on August 19 but has since been delayed as the city battles an outbreak of Covid-19. 

Revised timing has yet to be announced but Subaru assured its followers on Twitter in a post on Tuesday that the new sixth-generation model was “coming soon”.

In the video clip, a driver can be seen shifting gears with a traditional manual transmission before the rev counter flares across the new tachometer that maxes out at 6,000RPM.

It builds on comments made earlier this year by Blair Read, general manager at Subaru Australia who was asked if the WRX would retain its formula of being a turbocharged AWD vehicle with a manual transmission and, in response, confirmed “there will be core Subaru DNA in the new WRX”.

The lower rev limited provides us further evidence the upcoming WRX will forgo its current turbocharged 2.0L four-cylinder boxer engine in favour of a larger 2.4L engine found in the new BRZ. 

A lower rev limit is a classic sign of a larger displacement engine, particularly with forced induction, as a bigger engine is typically able to produce more power without increasing the speed of the pistons.

The aforementioned 2.4L engine produces around 194kW of power and 376Nm of torque when fitted to the US-market Ascent large SUV and its and it’s not unrealistic to think it could be pushed further with a performance tune.

The teaser video also points to a classic four-door body style, though the deliberately deceiving teaser images make it hard to know for sure. 

The latest news follows the announcement earlier this month that the Australia launch of the WRX had been pushed back from late this year to early 2022.