[Moppie]

STi Stands for Subaru Techniqua International. (or something like that)
Its not an aftermarket tuner, but a division of Subaru.

The WRX STi is a pure Subaru model, just like the EVO VIII is a pure Mitsi model.
The two cars are also great for makeing a comparison, both have about the same hp, and on paper both are about as quick as each other.

The base model WRX is not as quick as the EVO, and should not be compared with it, the older models where in a similar catagory to the Lancer GSR, a car sold only in Japan. However I dont think a version has been made since the late 90s or about the time the EVO VI came out. It is quite fair to say that at the moment Mitsi does not have car that can be compared with the base model WRX.


The WRX STi as sold in the US market is a differnt problem altogether.
Its is supposed to use a 2.5L engine, most likly a more developed version of the Legacy and Forrester engine.
For the last 5 years Subaru have been having trouble with the fj20 engine in the WRX suffering from detonation when run on low grade fuel. It has cost them a lot of money in Australia where several complete engines had to be replaced, and the warranty was changed and a special ECU chip developed to detune the cars sold in states where high octane fuel was hard to come by.
Clearly to overcome this problem the US Spec WRX has less hp than the version sold else where in the world, and the STi is getting a larger engine able to make as much hp, but with a lower comp ratio.
Quite how this will effect the performance of the car is still open to question, my guess is it will be no faster than the 2.0 STi's sold else where in the world, in which case it should still be a fair comparison with the US Spec EVO VIII, assuming it has more hp than the number quoted.