New Subaru WRX 2021 detailed! Performance icon to get 2.4-litre turbo engine good for 200kW and 400Nm: reports

Details of the hotly anticipated 2021 Subaru WRX have begun to emerge, with international media suggesting the iconic performance car will appear in April next year sporting two new engine options. 

The most recent reports suggest the rumours are true; the new WRX will be powered by the 1.8-litre turbocharged boxer engine featured in the Levorg Prototype revealed at the Tokyo Motor Show. But that's not all.

Because fresh reporting out of Japan suggests that car will be joined by a high performance version that will make use of a turbocharged 2.4-litre engine good for a more substantial 200kW and 400Nm.

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That engine is currently at work in the Subaru Ascent, a seven-seat SUV on sale in the USA, but that isn't currently available in Australia. In SUV form, the engine produces some 190kW and 376Nm, but it would be tweaked to produce more power in WRX form. 

The 1.8-litre engine, on the other hand, is expected to produce around 150kW. Both will be optioned with a CVT automatic, and while there's no word yet on a manual gearbox, we'd be shocked if one wasn't made available.

What's not clear at this point is whether the WRX will have two trim levels - a standard and a high performance - that sit under the STI, or whether the high performance will be the STI, with the 1.8-litre engine sitting beneath it as the standard WRX.

But given the new STI is rumoured to appear some months after the WRX, combined with the fact the current vehicle delivers a whopping 227kW and 407Nm and you'd have to think that a new STI would deliver more power again, the smart money is on the WRX being offered with two engine options.

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According to Japanese reports, the new WRX will ride on Subaru's Global Platform, and will weigh in at around 1500kg. 

While Subaru in Australia has so far kept quiet on the new model, the brand's Managing Director, Colin Christie, told CarsGuide that it will live up to the expectations of WRX fans around the world. 

“From what we’ve seen, what Subaru will put together is going to be a fantastic product,” said Mr Christie.

“It’s still a fair way off unfortunately. Timing is a bit awkward, and we don’t have an exact date, but certainly not next year (2020). We’re hoping it might be a 2021 issue."