New 2022 Subaru WRX previewed ahead of reveal this year

Subaru is bringing back the hallowed WRX nameplate once again for a four-wheel-drive performance saloon based on its mass-market Impreza.

Previewed for the first time in a darkened image, the new model will revive characteristic WRX styling cues including a gaping bonnet scoop, while retaining its four-door, three-box silhouette. Wider fenders and a prominent rear wing are almost certain to appear, too, as part of a more aggressive stance inspired by 2017's Viziv Performance concept.

The Japanese manufacturer is not divulging further details, save for promising that it "will be here so fast, it will take your breath away". It will also, Subaru said, be "powerful, agile and completely redesigned". 

The previous-generation WRX - in top-rung STi form - was taken off sale in the UK in 2018 for two reasons: having ended its World Rally Championship campaign, Subaru had no need to market a homologated road car based on its rally car, and its 396bhp 2.5-litre flat-four engine fell foul of increasingly stringent emissions regulations.

It is highly likely that these same emissions regulations will prevent Subaru from marketing the BMW M2 rival in Europe, given it is widely reported to adopt the same 2.4-litre naturally aspirated boxer engine used by Subaru's new BRZ, which is a US-only car.

Subaru's UK line-up has evolved into an SUV-focused offering, comprising the Outback, XV and Forester, and will expand next year with the arrival of the new, electric Solterra - a four-wheel-drive family SUV based on the new e-TNGA platform co-developed with Toyota.