With all the latest news from Subaru being centred on the upcoming BRZ coupé we nearly missed this one. Unveiled alongside the new coupé is a limited edition offering of the outgoing Impreza WRX STI. Dubbed 'S206' the new car is based on the standard four-door WRX STI but has received a host of upgrades to make it one of the most focused cars ever to wear the badge of Subaru Tecnica International.
Featuring a model-exclusive ball bearing turbocharger, STI-tuned ECU and sports muffler, the 2.0-litre boxer engine now makes 319hp and 431Nm of torque. Accelerator response is said to be sharpened up and low to mid range torque increased, thereby offering better driveability.
The S206 suspension has also been tweaked with new Bilstein shocks, STI springs and an STI strut brace. In addition to the suspension upgrades the car features new 19-inch BBS alloys and Michelin Pilot Super Sport tyres.
An even more special edition, built to commemorate Subaru's class win at the Nurburgring 24 Hours, will be offered. Featuring all the goodies of the standard S206 the NBR Challenge Pack also gets a carbon fibre roof and carbon rear spoiler.
Unfortunately there is some bad news. First of all the S206 will only be offered on the Japanese market and not in Europe and secondly only 300 S206s will be built by Subaru with 100 of them being the NBR Edition - and those 100 cars have already sold out.