Autoblog and Yahoo may earn commission from links in this article.Subaru's Performance LegacyNo pun intended, but Subaru's legacy in performance cars started with the Legacy RS. Known (and detuned) in the U.S. as the Legacy Turbo, it was the Japanese automaker's first serious foray into rallying, while the Impreza WRX eventually cemented it.From then on, Subaru has offered spicier versions of its road cars, namely the aforementioned Legacy RS and Impreza WRX, along with the WRX STI, Legacy Spec B, Forester XT and STI, and BRZ. Had Subaru not entered motorsport about 35 years ago, the company's image and fate would be totally different today.SubaruWhat's Next?Subaru recently established its Product Innovation Division, and within it, the Sports Vehicle Planning Office. That office's task is simple: to build the company's fun cars. Chief technical officer Tetsuo Fujinuki recently spoke to Best Car about the future of Subaru's performance cars.AdvertisementAdvertisementThe executive pointed out that its three upcoming STI-engineered cars show Subaru's commitment in the performance car arena, all of which have manual transmissions. It includes what is likely to be a more powerful version of the WRX (but not a full STI, presumably), a hotter BRZ, and a hot hatch that could carry the name Impreza TX.Translated from Japanese, Fujinuki said, "We've created a Product Innovation Headquarters and established a Sports Vehicle Planning Office specializing in sports models. We decided to abandon the old way of doing things. Because it's boring. We'd have a confirmation meeting, then another meeting, and they'd bring out similar materials again." The fact that an entirely new division was made is a massive commitment and undertaking in itself, further showing Subaru's serious intentions.SubaruMore to Come?With the new performance division, does this mean we can expect more speedy Subarus? "We tried developing it [performance cars] entirely digitally. And it turned out we could do quite a lot. As a result, our development speed increased, and we were able to do more daring things," said Fujinuki.Now, this doesn't mean that Subaru will transform itself into a purely performance brand. It still needs to sell boatloads of Foresters and Outbacks to fund development. That said, additional digital development makes it easier, and more importantly, less expensive to make more STI-engineered vehicles.AdvertisementAdvertisementGiven the company's investment in the new performance division, one can say that Subaru's sporting spirit will stay alive as the automotive industry becomes more and more electrified. Subaru is also looking into building electrified performance cars, but details are still murky at the time of writing.Jacob Oliva/AutoblogThis story was originally published by Autoblog on Jul 24, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Autoblog as a Preferred Source by clicking here.